Occasionally I think about trying to compensate for the carbon emissions I cause (like when I’m on I-75, for example). I have heard about programs where you pay to have trees planted to counteract your use—they grow and take in carbon theoretically in the amount you have released by living in a modern first-world manner.
Here, though, I read that while forests can sequester carbon, (some) forests also experience wildfires. This, then, counteracts the benefits of planting the trees. Depending on multiple factors, your carbon sequestration attempt may ultimately fail—after all, the carbon is not stored if the trees burn.
BTW, did you notice the carbon emitted at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Oly Games? That big fire in the center of B.C. Place?
Oh, and, watch out for the quality of drinking and surface water here in the good old US of A; it may look clean, but don’t bet on it….