blogs.ubc.ca/bengeorge

I believe Jaskaran Chauhan has made a fairly well reasoned point. Charging customers a fee as a countermeasure for the pollution they plan to produce is not a viable alternative for Air Canada. What may end up ridding consumers of a ‘guilty conscience’ will not rid the world of pollution.

Pollution is not something  one can offset simply by producing an equal amount of the reinforcement; as more pollution gets released into the air, the combined emissions accumulate into the environment. These emissions act as an insulator, allowing more of the suns rays to remain in the atmosphere.

In the long run, this will warm up the Earth, melt the polar ice caps, and cause a noticable rise in ocean levels.

Planting trees is a good way to care for the environment, but to restore it to its original condition, we must actively take a look at what we can do to REDUCE our impact, PREVENT further damage, and INNOVATE for more eco-friendly products and production methods. 

CBC News – Air Canada’s carbon-offset program takes flight