Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Why not buy your kids some carbon offsets? That should give them something to whine about to their therapists.Unfortunately, CO2 pollution is no joke, but eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is partnering with the Pop!Tech social innovation network to organize the Pop!Tech Carbon Initiative, which allows you to buy your carbon offsets via the Internet marketer. The offsets won't be auctioned, however, but sold in a 'buy it now', flat-price form.
The site offers a simple carbon calculator to allow you to estimate the amount of CO2 you generate per year. I supposedly am responsible for 11.5 tons.
Once my carbon debt was calculated, I was given some carbon-saving projects from around the world that I could choose to fund to offset my carbon debt. In my case, these included a solar irrigation project in Benin ($10/ton), reforestation in Nicaragua ($5.50/ton), and converting ceramic kilns to biomass in Brazil ($10.50/ton). By these figures, it would cost me roughly $600-$1200 to offset my carbon debt.
The project is scheduled to run through the end of the year, but shop early for the best selection!
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