Environmental Placebos?

“Individuals and businesses who are feeding a $700 million global market in [carbon] offsets are often buying vague promises instead of the reductions in greenhouse gases they expect,” writes Doug Struck. “Carbon offsets are the environmental equivalent of financial derivatives: complex, unregulated, unchecked and—in many cases—not worth their price. And often, those who get the ‘green credits’ thinking their own carbon emissions have been offset, are fooled.”