Owning a car is a necessity in most parts of the U.S., there is no getting around it. The prevalence of highways, and the long distances between many locations, even within a city, make owning a car indispensable. But have you thought about the environmental consequences of driving? Cars generate greenhouse gases that trap heat inside the earth’s atmosphere, so driving your car does contribute to global warming. For example, a 2002 Toyota Camry generates approximately 7.7 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, while a 2002 Chevy S10 4WD pickup generates 12.2 tons per year. Think that your late model high end European automobile does much better? Guess again… The 2007 BMW 530xi Sport Wagon generates approximately 9.2 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, while the Mercedes-Benz CL60 generates a whopping 13.1 tons per year. That’s even higher then the massive 2007 GMC Yukon 1500 4WD SUV which generates 11.4 tons per year. One way to try to lessen the effects that your driving causes is to ride a bike on errands, take public transportation to work, or just walk to your destination, when possible. But is there any way you can help reduce your car’s impact on global warming during those times when there is no alternative to driving, like when you make your monthly trip to the warehouse grocery store, or your summer pilgrimage to that mountain lake retreat you love so much? There is a way, and it is called buying carbon credits.

When you buy carbon credits for your automobile, you give money to an organization that will invest the money to offset the amount of carbon that your driving contributes to the atmosphere. You can also buy carbon credits for the amount of electricity you use in your home or business and for your air travel.

The first step is to figure out your annual carbon footprint, which is the amount of carbon that you generate from your various websites that help you to figure out your carbon footprint. 3phases.com, which sells carbon credits that allow you to buy green 100% clean wind energy to offset your carbon footprint, has a very user friendly carbon footprint calculator. Terrapass.com, another reputable carbon credit company, has an automobile carbon credit calculator that you can use to determine your car’s emissions, and to determine which terrapass carbon credit product is right for you. Terrapass even has a carbon credit calculator for your wedding which takes into account how many guests you will have, what mode of transportation they will use, how many miles they will travel, and even how many hotel rooms your guests will occupy. Input all the data into their carbon credit wedding calculator, buy the appropriate pass, and you too can have a wedding that is, to quote terrapass.com, “carbon balanced”.