I think a probe of these companies may be in order – but would regulating them lend legitimacy to what is essentially the sale of snake-oil?

For those who support it, it offers the reward of "carbon neutrality" without having to lower one's standard of living. To critics, it allows guilt-free pollution. Either way, the burgeoning carbon offset industry needs more oversight, say two members of Congress.

In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, Republican Reps. Tom Davis of Virginia and Darrell Issa of California asked for an investigation into emission offset programs.

About 60 different companies sell carbon offsets to U.S. consumers but operate under virtually no standards, the congressmen said. They cited reports alleging that some organizations get money for emissions that don't exist and that others make large profits on cleanups that would have taken place anyway.

"We want to understand the products sold in these markets and make sure they are doing what they say they are," said Davis, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"Offsets are becoming a convenient shortcut for individuals and industry to become 'carbon neutral.' Now that we see legislation introduced to direct the federal government to do the same thing, we need a complete picture," Davis said.

Frankly, the notion of selling “carbon offsets” seems no more legitimate to me than the notion of selling indulgences in the Middle Ages – with the additional drawback that while sin is real, man-made global warming is not. I’m therefore troubled by the notion of a governmental imprimatur upon what is effectively a fraud upon the gullible – or, if you really believe in man-made global warming, a license to go on sinning. Where are the latter-day Luthers?

Posted by: Greg at 02:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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