The New Oxford American Dictionary has announced the 2006 Word of the Year: "Carbon Neutral"

Being carbon neutral involves calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions (your "carbon footprint"), reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often by purchasing a carbon offset: paying to plant new trees or investing in "green" technologies such as solar and wind power.

The rise of carbon neutral reflects the growing importance of the green movement in the United States. It’s more than a trend, it’s a movement, which is why the editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have declared carbon neutral the word of the year for 2006. It will be added to the next update of the dictionary, due in early 2007.

Other words considered include community-supported agriculture (CSA), DRM, dwarf planet, elbow bump, fishapod, funner (dear G** my grammar insides are melting), Ghostriding, and Pregaming.

I think elbow bump should have got it:

elbow bump: a greeting in which two people touch elbows, recommended by the World Health Organization as an alternative to the handshake in order to reduce the spread of germs.

Via PR Newswire ; Tags: word of the year, dictionary, words, oxford, elbow bump, carbon neutral