(Image: Kendra)

We hate to do this to you on a Friday, but you’ve been asking about ways to make your life more carbon neutral, right? You’ve got the compost bin in the backyard, you’re cutting down on driving that car, and generally you’re making your life less carbon-intensive.

Now you are ready for the next step – carbon offsetting. While we’ll try help hold your hand along the way, there is a lot to be said about doing your own homework.

That said, today we bring you a list of some great sources of information – where to start learning about the ins and the outs of carbon offsetting. Is it a beautiful thing for the earth, or is a quick money-maker run by a bunch of charlatans? We are not going to draw any conclusions for you, but hope to help you make your own educated decisions.

Here goes:

The highly-respected WorldWatch Magazine has devoted a healthy chunk of this year’s summer issue to the present-day challenges of the carbon offset business. See Carbon Offsets 101, for starters.

Unravelit is a good place for the laymen among us, to start studying.

If you are based in the UK, the British Financial Times has attempted to uncover the problems and the disappointments of carbon offset programs (the smokescreen), yet pulls a 360 by offering a sweet guide to offsetting carbon.

We couldn’t leave out one of the world’s best authorities – The Tufts Institute – who we hope to interview soon, and which offers an excellent guide with a cornucopia of information.

And of for some bedside reading this week-end (we kid), try the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (the EU-based carbon offset trading marketplace); and the Chicago Climate Exchange for North America.

Enjoy!