I have a lot of mixed feelings about green web hosting. There are many companies doing it many different ways, but to wrap it up in a nutshell you could say this. Green hosting is an action taken by a web host to balance their waste with something good for the environment.

Carbon credit scams are nothing more than a well worked shell game.

Let me give you an example of how things should not be done. Lets say I am a real jerk. I treat people like crap and I like to kick them when they are down. I am the kind of guy that would rather lead an only lady into on coming traffic than help her get across the street.

Now there is another company that comes along and says, “You don’t have to stop being a jerk, but for $100 a year you can buy nice credits from people who are too nice.” With these nice credits I can claim to be nice, and I really don’t have to be? This is brilliant! I can keep being a jerk and then tell all my friends I am the geeky male version of Mother Teresa.

Doesn’t that sound silly? Unfortunately that is pretty much how these carbon credits work that web hosts buy from other companies.

So what can you do to become a real green web host? I say take the action in your own hands. Don’t go buy credits – do something without getting an officially recognized seal. You could have all of your employees go out once a month and clean up trash along the high way. You could plan community recycling events in your area. You could go out and buy a acre of land and plant a tree or two each year. There are more than a few ways to really help the planet.

So is green hosting nothing more than the sales term of the future? Hard to tell. I do think that people should really do their homework though before signing up with any web host who claims to be green to see what they are really doing. Are they getting out there and getting to work or are they just buying useless credits from some other company?