Can We Atone for Our Energy Sins?

Media fawn over celebrities' 'carbon offsets' and fail to examine cost of carbon-trading programs.

By Julia A. Seymour
Business & Media Institute

"Typically, green represents the deadly sin of envy, but with the media’s help it now also stands for hypocrisy.

In this case, the hypocrisy is media promotion of buying carbon offsets – giving a donation to an energy-saving project as penance for guzzling gas or jetting off to an exotic location. With Al Gore, Hollywood and other celebrities leading the way, the media have joined the excitement, encouraging individuals and companies to offset carbon dioxide emissions."