Green answer is blowing in the wind

Green answer is blowing in the wind: "Make no mistake, the cat will still smell, and its emissions will still contain methane, but Easy Being Green vows to spend the $8 you give them on products, such as energy-saving lightbulbs and water-saving shower heads, that reduce emissions elsewhere (if not in your own backyard)."

I have just read this whole article and I am none the wiser. I do not see how it helps as it seems a bit like the good old smoke and mirrors to me. I cannot see how getting carbon credits and then not actually using them and somehow magically it happens somewhere else ( "a tonne of carbon dioxide will be kept out of the air for 100 years")...or someone else gets the low energy lights because you already bought them. It seems like a good idea...but it also seems a great way to make money but actually do nothing about the environment and global warming. I think this needs to go back to the drawing board. At this stage there do not seem to be any real guarantees.