Rotorbee - there is nothing magical about carbon offestting or carbon trading as it was termed in Kyoto - it allows those who wish to continue to pollute to salve their consciences by buying or trading other countries 'rights' to pollute. It's a bit like using other peoples duty free allowances because they don't drink and smoke.
Carbon offsetting has gained popularity because a green minded individual can still fly around the world as long as he has planted enough trees to offset the CO2.
Given that the IPCC claims that even if CO2 emissions were halved tomorrow, the climate would still keep on warming, offsetting is just a way of pretending not to make the situation worse.
I fully agree that everyone should recycle and use less electricity (what is your CO2 free source and what CO2 was used to create the machinery to convert the source into electricity?), it's just good housekeeping to look after the planet and it's natural resources.
Hustler - I like that, good post
