carbon offsets

Web conferences have replaced unnecessary business travel as companies cut costs and go greener. And now it looks like Skype video meetings have started to replace in-office interviews as well.

Yay for zero carbon miles! Boo for pixelated faces and lag time. I Skype a lot with my family, and most of the time I’m staring up my nose. Or moving in slow mo when my network connection gets congested. I don’t think either one would make the best impression on a potential employer.

I’ll admit that math has never been my best subject. But I have a pretty good grasp of its basic concepts — and I wonder if the relatively new phenomenon of “carbon offsets” adds up.