At very least, though, offsets may get people in the developed world (like us) to start thinking about pricing carbon into our purchasing behavior. Also, there’s the argument that some offset projects may eventually generate meaningful capital and technology transfer to the emerging/developing world–a process that will be necessary if those countries are to shift to a less-carbon-intensive development path.

A few months ago, I came across this piece by Michael Wara, a research fellow at Stanford’s Center for Environmental Science and Policy: http://pesd.stanford.edu/publications/cdm/ He definitely paints a dour picture, exposing the shortfalls of offsets–particularly those created by mitigating HFC-23 emissions in China–and calling into question the effectiveness of Kyoto. It’s worth a read.

Instead of offsets: save and invest what you would give to Terrapass. Then, when you’ve accumulated enough, liquidate your assets and buy PV panels (through Getsolar, of course…).