After 15 1/2 months of COVID, I am *ready*. Ready to start returning to normal, which includes things like travel. We finally booked our first flight since this whole thing started (Vegas here we come!), and I couldn't be more excited.
Now, air travel is pretty horrible from an environmental perspective, accounting for about 2.5% of CO2 emissions and 5% of global warming (due to other non-CO2 factors). While air travel is becoming more energy efficient, it can't keep up with increasing demand. Folks, this is horrible news!
If you are able, train travel is a great alternative, especially if you live somewhere with high speed rail, like much of Europe.
If trains aren't a viable option for you, consider carbon offsets. I was pleasantly surprised to see this option presented to me upon checkout with Alaska Airlines. For the low cost of $0.01 per mile ($17.32 for our trip), we can "pay back" our impact by contributing to projects that make a difference.
What exactly are carbon offsets? Are we sure it's not just green-washing? There are multiple types of offsets, and multiple companies offering them. You will need to look at the particular company to see if it meets your priorities. For example, your funds could go towards planting trees, or R&D for alternative energy and technologies, or installing alternative energy devices, upgrading air travel itself, investing in carbon recapture devices, and more.
This particular group, The Good Traveler, was founded by the San Diego International Airport in 2015, and partners with 20 other airports and airlines to offer offsets. They use your purchase to fund a variety of projects. Here are just a couple examples: HFC Reclaim is a project in Illinois to recapture and resell HFC refrigerants, prevented use of and emissions from virgin refrigerants. Ball State University has a project in Indiana to install a campus-wide closed loop heating and cooling system that upgrades them from coal. Massachusetts Tri-City Improved Forest Management project was able to protect 17000 acres of forest land.
Pretty cool all the projects a small upgrade to your travel can fund. A small cost to mitigate the impacts of air travel.
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