It is estimated that in the US some $54 million dollars were spent on Carbon Offsets last year.  Which were purchased through companies like TerraPass or CarbonFund.com.  But where is the over site in ensuring that these programs do as they say.  Who is watching this industry?

Well for starters, the FTC is starting to look into advertising claims of these companies and making sure that they are living up to their promises. 

The FTC has not accused anyone of wrongdoing--neither the providers of carbon offsets nor the consumer brands that sell them. But environmentalists say--and the FTCs hearings suggest--that it is only a matter of time until the market faces greater scrutiny from the government or environmental organizations.

"Is there green substance behind the green sparkle?" said Daniel C. Esty, director of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale University and author of Green to Gold, a book about how companies use environmental strategies to their advantage. "The carbon market is a leading example of the challenge of making sure that when people put their money into what they hope will improve their planet, that there is real follow-through." 

Carbon offsets are essentially promises to use money in a way that will reduce carbon emissions. Panelists at the FTC's session on Tuesday raised a number of questions about certifications behind the claims, wondering if the offset companies might be double-counting carbon reductions that would have happened even without their efforts.

There is even disagreement over how much carbon dioxide can be neutralized by tree-planting, which is the type of offset that is easiest to grasp.