The environmental offset business

TIME magazine "lost in the forest" by Adam Smith JAN 29,2007 issue

People are becoming more environmentally considerate nowadays with the high-profile publicizing of climate problems. With increased awareness comes an increased sense of responsibility to the environment. This gives off to a growing environmental subsidiary called "carbon offsetting". These new breed of companies calculate the amount of greenhouse gases an individual or business generates by flying, driving or heating and lighting a home or office. Customers then voluntarily pay that firm to invest in projects that will cut carbon emissions by an equal amount. For example, in Treeflights.com, green-minded airline passengers pay $20 to grow a plant in say, some place like Western Wales' Cambrian Mountains, hoping that the tree planted will absorb the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide to their share spewed out during a flight.

The article raised a few problems with this issue.
Firstly, if the tree is not maintained, it might succumb to disease, fire and logging that will shorten its life and curtail its CO2 absorption capabilities.
Secondly, there is no general regulatory authority that oversees this offsetting business. So, companies could possibly be doing minute things that are not really helping the earth at all. Also, no one is really monitoring the so-called positive offsetting business that these companies are involved in. Without constant monitoring, there could be abuse. Profiteering could occur. Of course, these are just conjectures on my part.

Also, another problem with this issue ( which i think is a serious one), is that with this offsetting business, businesses, individulas can continue polluting without making changes or improvements to their behaviour. In a way, paying a bit of money allays their guilt of polluting the environment. Then, they probably will not take extra care in taking care of their natural surroundings as the guilt on them is relieved. Then, the actual pollution may exceed the offsetting.