Consumers purchase them to relieve greenhouse-gas guilt, but there's no easy way to keep offset companies accountable.

In 2006, "carbon neutral" became the New Oxford American Dictionary's word of the year, evidence not only of the "greening" of our culture, but of our language as well. As scientists predict another bout of record-setting temperatures this year, climate concerns may soon "green" our wallets as well. By all accounts, 2007 is poised to see the industry of carbon neutrality - so-called carbon offsetting - grow dramatically.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0110/
p13s02-sten.html

The First Saturday of the month, 8:30 am to 10:30 am
The Farm Institute
Winter Work: The Farm Institute. Chores on the farm don’t take a winter break and much still needs to be done to prepare the farm animals, barns & gardens for spring. Don’t let the cold keep your children indoors this winter, TFI will offer a healthy dose of outdoor activity revolving around winter operations on the farm. TFI invites children of all ages to sign up for one of our program sessions. *Please note our Saturday program will be running for 3 hours this winter! Register Early - Space is Limited, For details and to register contact: Nora Kennedy, Education Manager 508.627.7007 – office nora@farminstitute.org

The Jim Powell Program presents: Sustainable Shellfishing and Water Quality, featuring Rick Karney, director of the MV Shellfish Group, and Bill Wilcox, Water Resource Planner, for the MV Commission. This informational interview includes interesting graphics and a lot of relevant information about key water bodies on the Vineyard. Channel 13, on Mon January 15 and 22 at 7:00 PM. Check MVTV for other times as well.

It was raining steadily outside as the cream of Martha's Vineyard birders began gathering to collate the numbers in the annual Christmas bird count late Friday afternoon. But none resorted to the old cliche about it being nice weather for ducks. For it had been rotten weather - for ducks in particular - and also for most other kinds of birds as well, at least if you were trying to count them.

http://www.mvgazette.com/features/
index.php?story=20070112_bird_count

Members of Maine's congressional delegation are calling for tougher limits on mercury emissions and the establishment of a monitoring program in response to new evidence of heavily contaminated "hot spots" in Maine and other Northeastern states. Researchers who spent three years testing yellow perch and loons across the Northeast have identified five areas where mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources accumulated to levels considered unsafe for animals and for humans.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
news/state/070110mercury.html

The Atlantic Ocean doesn't receive the mother lode of fixed nitrogen, the building block of life, after all. Instead, comparing fathom for fathom, the Pacific and Indian oceans experience twice the amount of nitrogen fixing as the Atlantic, say researchers in the Jan. 11 issue of Nature.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/
2007-01/uow-nfb010807.php

BOSTON - The federal agency that will decide the fate of the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm is meeting with government, academic and industry groups in Boston this week to discuss development of renewable energy facilities in federal waters.

http://www.capecodonline.com/
cctimes/federalagency11.htm