Using eBay to Offset Carbon Emissions

Have you ever thought of calculating your individual carbon footprint? Although must people have not, it may become a common thing to do in the future. The technological conference PopTech, currently taking place in Maine, just launched the PopTech Carbon Initiative. This website, powered by eBay, allows people to calculate how many tons of carbon dioxide they produce and subsequently choose to make up for it by “buying” the same amount from one of three carbon-offsetting NGOs. These organizations are:

• Solar Electric Light Fund, which works on on micro-irrigation and solar water pump installations;
• Ecologica Assessoria, a program focusing on restoring pastures to forest in Central America; and
• Paso Pacifico, which attempts to help the Brazilian ceramic industry to switch to renewable biomass kiln fuel.

All three are endorsed by PopTech and by other groups such as the Earth Policy Institute. The makers of this website insist that the project is not simply about alleviating one’s own conscience but also about enacting fundamental change at the environmental level. Will we be seeing a “real, personal carbon-credits marketplace” in the future, as heralded by conference organizer, Andrew Zolli? Form your opinion after reading the story from Wired here.