From Tuesday's Raleigh N&O:

N.C. GreenPower is venturing into a hot market, selling "carbon offsets" to cut greenhouse gases.

The Raleigh nonprofit group received regulatory approval Monday to let state residents offset the carbon dioxide emissions they cause for as little as $4 a month.

Buying carbon offsets has taken off as a means to fight global warming; the money subsidizes tree plantings, wind power farms and other eco-friendly projects. Some estimate that more than 100 vendors sell carbon offsets.

Because the free-wheeling market is not regulated and is often difficult to verify, offsets have been dogged by skeptics' accusations of exaggerated benefits and bogus claims.

But N.C. GreenPower's carbon offset sales will be among the first in the nation to be regulated. The N.C. Utilities Commission will oversee GreenPower's program, because the offsets will be marketed by the state's electric utilities and paid through monthly utility bills.

How will this affect me? I already pay $4 extra per month for renewables as part of NC GreenPower. Must I offset my coal use as well? Sacrifice, bleah.


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