Purchase Carbon Offsets
Because our society is so dependent on fossil fuels for energy - especially for transportation and electricity generation - even with the best efforts to reduce fossil fuel use it will be difficult to reduce your carbon footprint to zero. Carbon offsets offer a way to mitigate the impact of emissions from fossil fuels.
Carbon offsets support projects that prevent emissions or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They are sold in units of 1 tonne (1,000 kilograms or 2,205 pounds) of carbon dioxide, and generally cost $10-15 per tonne. At $10 per tonne, it would cost $170 a year to offset the 17 tonnes of emissions for the average American.
ClimateYogi recommends CoolEffect.org as a source of carbon offsets. Cool Effect has a variety of projects you can choose from, many of which directly improve the lives of people in addition to offsetting carbon emissions. For example, one project in rural India, which produces clean biogas for cooking from animal waste not only reduces carbon pollution but also helps the local community of Bagepalli, India power their homes with clean energy and helps provide jobs and financial support for residents.
