Carbon Credits=silly (on a personal level)?

Question

I think buying CC's is kind of lame; it makes sense on a company scale because you dont want massive pollution. However, as Time criticizes, it's a strange way to buy your way out of guilt.

Buying CC's as charity also doesn't fit well in economics, since people are not forced to buy them. Your "donation" could mainly end up going into the pockets of a company. Is not it better to donate to help the poor?

Also, trees can sometimes trap in heat, and have their own set of problems. I dont see how buying CC's will solve our pollution problem.

Answer 1

Carbon credits from trees are silly because CO2 is a long term problem causes by releasing long sequestered carbon from fossil fuels into the ecosystem. Trees removal of carbon is only temporary because they eventually die and decay returning their uptake of carbon back into the ecosystem. The only personal carbon credits that make sense would be one that permanently removed the carbon that your activities produced from fossil fuels.