I’m a skeptic by nature. So when I first started hearing about carbon offsets, my initial reaction was that they must just be a sugar pill, an empty way to make people feel less guilty about their carbon-intensive lifestyles. But I’m becoming more of a believer, and here’s why. Carbon offsets are a way to counterbalance your carbon emissions by investing in solutions such as wind energy. You purchase the “offset,” and your money goes toward developing new wind farms or preserving rainforest acreage or capturing methane. There are several companies and nonprofits that do this, in varying ways.

There are lots of ways to reduce your carbon footprint, or the amount of greenhouse gas emissions you generate as a result of your daily life. Trade in your car for one with better gas mileage, for example. And walk, bike, or take public transportation whenever possible. But chances are you must drive sometimes - so one way to counterbalance the carbon emissions from burning gasoline is to help build renewable energy sources like wind farms.