Assuaging our environmental consciences

Can we buy our way to a greener world?

Excerpt:

When Jennifer Brown of Cottage Grove bought a personal computer from Dell last month, she did something unheard of until recently: She also donated $6 to the company to plant trees that could help nullify the pollution that she's created by running the computer.

BeGreenNow.com of Austin, Texas, is one of many carbon-offset suppliers to offer a one-stop shop for consumers. Plug numbers into the online carbon calculator -- electricity and natural gas usage, miles traveled on land and by air -- and users get their estimated carbon footprint and the cost to offset it. Consumers can use a credit card to pay for tree planting, wind turbine investment and other projects to make up for transgressions

Comment: Save the environment one choice at a time

1. Drive less
   
2. Turn off the lights
   
3. Turn down the furnace