Indulgences for rich, guilty liberals

By Jonathan David Carson

According to "Carbon Neutrality: A Shopper's Guide," in The Boston Globe, "Many [Web]sites...offer the option of offsetting an individual's entire ‘carbon footprint.'" ("Carbon footprint" is an expression environmentalists made up, meaning the amount of carbon dioxide each person releases into the atmosphere by breathing, driving to work, heating the house, and other such noxious activities.) "Customers can" also "buy offsets for the carbon dioxide emissions released by air travel." Shoppers will soon even be able to get "a credit card that rewards carriers with offsets based on much they spend."

Note the language: "A Shopper's Guide," "offer," "customers," "buy," "rewards," and so on.

So what do you "buy" with the money you give these merchants? What do they "offer" you in return? What "option" do you receive? What is your "reward"? Nothing! You send them your money, and they promise to "offset" your carbon emissions with projects they claim will improve the environment by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in it. You get nothing but a chimerical absolution for the sin of being alive. And you thought that the sale of indulgences went out with the Middle Ages.

For example,

"Travelers buying airline tickets on the Web sites Expedia and Travelocity...can now pay extra to offset their share of the flight's emissions ($16.99 on Expedia for a cross-country flight), their money going into going into subsidies for wind and biomass energy, the planting or protection of forests (trees take carbon dioxide out of the air), or the installation of more energy-efficient light bulbs."

You send them your money, and they'll buy light bulbs for themselves!