I remember years ago reading out how companies in the US could trade emission credits between their factories in different states. I remember thinking that it sounded good in theory but overall how on earth did it hold anyone accountable for their local actions? In the end I came to the conclusion that it was a good way for a company to "buy time" until they could make process improvements to a plant that had a higher emission levels.

Then I came across the Offsetters website. How does it work? Well let's say you determine that your actions emit 20,000 kg of carbon dioxide a year. If you were to turn around and invest in a project that would pull 20,000 kg of carbon dioxide out of the atomosphere then you would be offsetting your inital emissions. Basically zeroing your impact out.

It's an interesting concept, both on a personal and professional level. 

What I learned:

* If I book a Westjet flight through this website a portion of my ticket cost will go towards an Offsetters project.

* A Canadian company is not only putting money into projects in Canada but also looking outside of our cold icy border walls and putting offsetter dollars into international projects

* We should start tracking our amount of emissions produced on an annual basis. It would be an interesting exercise. I have done it for work for years so it should be pretty easy to do for our family.