Though generally regarded as something between a band-aid and validation for dirty behavior, carbon offsets have become a very popular way to essentially “have your cake and eat it, too.” While this isn’t good justification for us as individuals, when applied to a larger organization, event or product, it can be an effective way to both clean up after itself and also help spread the word to a larger mainstream audience. Over the past year or so, there isn’t much that we haven’t seen that has “gone carbon neutral”, or canceled its entire carbon footprint through the offset process discussed yesterday [www.sundancechannel.com].

While we like the prevention vs. treatment, proactive vs. reactive approach of increasing efficiency and decreasing emissions in the first place, we also realize that the world will continue to spin, and things will continue to happen as they have for decades, even centuries, no matter how loud we shout about increasing energy efficiency and cutting back on carbon emissions. This is especially applicable to worldwide cultural and sporting events; things like the Olympic Games, World Cup and the Super Bowl (all of whom have committed to carbon neutrality in the past year or so) will continue to happen before, during and after any major governmental legislation or huge socio-political shift having to do with global warming. With a grain of salt and a warm embrace of cultural relativity, we applaud these events for taking small step forward (on a huge scale) and going carbon neutral. Sporting events aren’t the only things that have jumped on the bandwagon, though; carbon neutrality knows no bounds these days. Here are some of TreeHugger’s notable highlights:

[*] This year’s Super Bowl [www.treehugger.com], along with last year’s World Cup [www.treehugger.com] and Winter Olympic Games [www.treehugger.com], have been joined on the carbon-neutral all-star team by other sporting events and organizations like the Kodak Gallery Pro Cycling Team presented by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. [www.treehugger.com], the Cincinatti Reds’ home opening game [www.treehugger.com] and
the 2008 Games in Beijing [www.treehugger.com] .
[*] Not to be left out, the idea is sneaking into Hollywood, with An Inconvenient Truth [www.treehugger.com] (of course), Syriana [www.treehugger.com] and indie flick Sweet Land [www.treehugger.com] canceling the emissions from their respective productions.
[*] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young [www.treehugger.com] neutralized the emissions from their latest tour, which included buses run on 100% biodiesel.
[*] Regular stuff, like tea [www.treehugger.com], wine [www.treehugger.com] and flower delivery [www.treehugger.com] has been going carbon neutral, too.
[*] There’s a proposal to make all new homes in the UK [www.treehugger.com] carbon neutral by 2016.
[*] Airplane flights [www.treehugger.com], one of the biggest contributors to climate change, can now be made carbon-neutral.

With so many examples, it’s easy to see why “carbon neutral” [www.treehugger.com] was the New Oxford American Dictionary’s word of the year for 2006. Stay tuned, as we wrap up “Carbon Week” tomorrow, with a final look at your carbon footprint.

In this post, you will learn about Collin Dunn, who will be the primary writer for the Treehugger Blog on Sundance Channel. Collin Dunn has been working at Treehugger.com for a few years and has distinguished himself as an educator and motivator in the environmental movement.

Collin Dunn is a sustainability enthusiast based in Seattle, WA. He really digs modern design, music and pop culture, and believes that they all have a place in our greener world and are a great way to engage a mainstream audience in a greener lifestyle. Over at TreeHugger, he most often writes about ideas and products that can help us all be a little greener and live a little better without sacrificing looks, design and personal style. He figures if we’re going to change the world, we might as well like the way things look while doing it. Collin’s sustainable heroes include the Eames brothers, Rogan Gregory, and Bill McDonough; they’ve all helped show the world that green can be hip, cool and sexy. When it comes to apparel, he believes that organic cotton feels better; with food, he thinks that there’s nothing like fresh basil from your local farmer’s market, and that organic food tastes better when you prepare it yourself. Collin also thinks everyone should see An Inconvenient Truth, and that you should ride your bike to the movie store to rent it. He believes in human ingenuity and the power of positive thinking, that the democratic process works when everyone engages in it, and that we should all vote with our dollars. He doesn’t think there is any reason to take ourselves too seriously all of the time. He knows that no one is perfect, and that’s okay.

When he isn’t blogging about these ideas, Collin daydreams of a sustainable future while feasting on indie rock and sipping java from independent coffee shops. He makes a mean paella, prefers pinot noir from the Willamette Valley and doesn’t mind walking in the rain.

Collin believes everyone can do something every single day to make the world a better place.