In my Lutheran schooling one historical episode that fascinated me was that of Johann Tetzel selling indulgences. The German friar in the early 1500s set up shop telling people you could pay a certain amount of cash and get absolved a specific sin. The practice led Martin Luther to post his 95 Theses and ultimately to the Protestant Reformation.

I think the idea of businesses and consumers buying credits to offset their carbon use and global warming impact is basically a good one. But it also could become a modern day, environmental version of the Tetzel scheme.

With carbon offset programs the consumer, whether a business or individual, can pay a certain amount that gets invested in renewable, environmentally friendly practices. To offset your operating an SUV or the energy expended in putting on a music concert, for example, you invest in planting some trees. Or as an energy customer you agree to pay more for renewable sources. You're actually investing in alternative energy, as opposed to having a wind turbine directly light up your home.

The practice, applied properly, does do some environmental good. It encourages sustainable practices and, perhaps even more importantly, encourages greater environmental consciousness.

But critics of these programs have a point. It can become a way to simply appease our consciences without really addressing the problems. If we still drive the gas guzzler or operate a factory that uses lots of energy and creates lots of pollution, planting a few trees isn't going to take care of things. If you want to lose weight, still getting the Big Mac and fries but now a diet coke won't work.

And then of course, where there's a business opportunity, there's an opportunity for corruption. Some carbon offset programs have been accused of not using the funds for their environmental intentions. Plus, there's the question of how exactly you quantify what offsets what.

If we treat them as intended, carbon offset programs can help move us in the right direction. But they won't get us to environmental heaven by themselves any more than Tetzel's indulgences got people to the spiritual one.

Allan Gerlat is editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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