About Carbon Offsets

An Offset is described as something that serves to counterbalance or compensate for something else.

We all use energy in our daily lives. Whenever we drive our cars, fly in a plane, or heat our homes or offices, we are using energy.

Most of the energy we use has come from burning fossil fuels. This has been the case ever since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, about 150 years ago.

Power plants create that energy by burning fossil fuels like coal, gas or oil. The electricity we use every time we switch on a light, or watch TV was created in a power plant.

Numerous gases are released into the air, such as carbon dioxide, methane and other gases, as the fossil fuels are burned.

Consequently, there is a direct relationship between the electricity that is fed into the electrical grid, for use in our homes and offices, and the carbon dioxide that is released into the air.

When you purchase carbon offsets, the funds you pay to offset (compensate) for the carbon dioxide released when you use fossil fuels, go towards building new renewable energy sources like wind turbine farms and solar power projects.

These renewable energy sources produce "clean" or "renewable energy." This clean energy is fed into the electrical grid, replacing "non-renewable" or "dirty energy".

Tree planting and methane gas projects are another way to offset our effect on global warming. These methods capture, or "sequester" carbon dioxide or methane gas that would otherwise add to the greenhouse effect. By supporting such projects, we are helping to protect the earth from further harmful gases and warming.

Research is ongoing into new ways to create renewable energy.