Coldplay is doing it. So is the Dave Matthews Band, Pink Floyd, UB40 and the Dixie Chicks have done it. The Spice Girls are mum, but we suspect they aren’t doing it. The Rolling Stones did it with all of their fans.

If you’ve reached our address, then you know we could only be talking about one thing: carbon offsetting.

News about bands buying offsets to carbon neutralize their tours and albums, is penetrating the media today, especially in Europe and North America where public relations machines look for every opportunity to give their clients an edge.

Are the capitalists who run the music industry taking advantage of a new trend? We think it’s a good thing that musicians are bringing carbon offsetting to the global consciousness, and are acknowledging that someone has to be responsible for global warming. But who really pays in the end?

In 2003, the Rolling Stones became one of the first bands to go “carbon neutral” by teaming up with UK-based Future Forests, during the British leg of their “Licks” tour. And with that, the company and concept of carbon neutral touring came to being.

In its assessment, Future Forest predicted that 90% of the carbon generated during a rock concert is spent by fans traveling to the venue. To help offset their transport, an extra surcharge was added to the ticket price of the Licks concert. It amounted to something like a dollar.

Due to this 2003 tour, 3,000 trees were to have been planted in Scotland. It would be interesting to see if they have since taken root. And we still put a very cautious eye on bands who claim to offset. In the Stone’s case, there was no mention of offsetting their jet, as they toured around the world.

A single hour of a private jet in flight, sucks up as much fuel as the average person does driving a car for an entire year. The cost to offset a jet hour is about $50.

It is worrying to hear that band members once thrilled to fly in a private jet are now demanding their own (see Spice Girls story). There’s been no mention if Posh, Baby or any of the other Spice chicks are putting some portion of their millions in revenues to offsets. Incidentally (or maybe not), Posh Spice and David Beckham have been criticized as being among the biggest celebrity energy hogs. See also Live Earth hypocrisy.

Is it okay for us (in our car-less and non-famous glass tower) to be pointing fingers? Does offsetting put one on the moral high ground? Maybe not. Pink Floyd, Coldplay and Atomic Kitten have all claimed to have produced carbon neutral albums. Let’s see what happened.

Coldplay and the Carbon Neutral Company (see their profile on Carbon Catalog), have produced some of the highest profile voluntary offset projects to date, including the planting of a mango forest in India to offset their 2003 album. Except, it is unclear if the project ever did, or will reap carbon offset fruit.

For about 18 British pounds (in 2003), fans bought Coldplay albums and with that action, were promised a mango tree to be planted in their name, somewhere in India. In 2006, media reports claim that the hyped-up Coldplay project was a disaster.

Some 40% of the mango saplings supplied to the Indian locals had died, and the project provided insufficient funds to water what had lived. The incident certainly opened a lot of questions, and may provide a good argument for offsetting projects locally, where the effects can be monitored.

Moving along…Pink Floyd jumped on the offsetting bandwagon in 2001, with the help of Future Forest, a provider which seems to have an affinity for bands. According to a Future Forest press release, other pop stars that offset through them include the Pet Shop Boys, UB40 and Neneh Cherry (and the Stones).

Over in the US, some similar things are happening. By late 2006, the Dixie Chicks chose to offset the carbon generated by their tour, for a year, through the Makira Forest Project, which would protect forests in Madagascar.

And the Dave Matthews Band put a spin on carbon offsetting completely, by announcing that it would offset retroactively, dating back to 1991 when the band started touring. They work through NativeEnergy and Clean Air-Cool Planet. We like their approach.

Another celebrity who has bypassed offsetting completely - is the Canadian singer/songwriter Jane Siberry (now Issa). The artist has written on her website that she has decided to abandon the capitalist enterprise of music making, to focus on more soulful and simple projects. She now offers her albums for download purchasing only.

So what will you think about next time you buy that album, concert ticket or plan your own world tour? Should you go the route of Coldplay, and offset, despite the controversy? Will you go the route of the Spice Girls, and throw your jet into high speed. Or perhaps you’ll emulate Ms. Siberry, and stay modest and simple.
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Being Canadian and all, maybe Neil Young will take notice and help us answer this complicated question.