I've been hearing about carbon neutrality for a while, but haven't paid much attention to it, usually because I heard it mentioned in conjunction with Al Gore, who, frankly, could get me to look for a new favorite cigar just by endorsing my present favorite. (Wish I was getting paid by the comma!)  Intellectual honesty eventually prompted me to look it up, and it turns out I've been working toward carbon neutrality for years, especially if motive isn't considered.

I have no way of knowing how many trees my father and I planted over the years, but mostly because they are beautiful. Some even bore fruit - apples, pears, figs, pecans… but since it takes a lot of trees to make a noticeable difference in the carbon monoxide/oxygen balance, we ignored the fact that each tree does help a little.

We're renting, but when we do build our own house, we plan to make it as easy to heat and cool as possible. We also plan on solar cells for supplemental electricity, and and a ground source heat pump for heating/air conditioning, as well as at least one windmill for additional power and maybe even water. Our reasons are primarily economy and self-sufficiency — we sat through days of no power and no heat but that from the fireplace in the aftermath of an ice storm a few years ago, and we have no intention of being that vulnerable again.

I don't feel the need to look up how much "credit" we get for each tree planted, or each alternative power source we employ, but it's nice to be reminded that even a little bit does make a difference.