A happy planet

Ogden Publications, home of magazines like Utne Reader, Mother Earth News and Natural Home, has launched EarthMoment.com, a shopping portal that dedicates half of its commission-based revenues to carbon offsets, reports Environmental Leader.

Earth Moment vends 15 million products and services from over a thousand merchants, including Apple, Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster, Circuit City, GNC, Kohls, Macy’s, Office Depot, Sharper Image, and Wal-Mart.

The company says that while other companies that put money toward "environmental funds" do so by tacking on fees to consumer purchases, Earth Moment contributes 50 percent of its revenue from vendors to carbon offsets - at no additional charge to the consumer.

Earth Moment allows consumers to compare prices from different vendors, then takes shoppers directly to the retailer of their choosing. Purchases made on the retailer’s site within 24 hours will contribute to Carbonfund.org.

Perhaps to lend a sense of productivity to the cause, shoppers can create profiles to assess their annual emissions and calculate the dollar amount needed to offset their contributions to global warming.