Writers:

Guilt-Free Spring Break

Posted on March 16, 2008 at 8:48 p.m. by Jill.

There once was a time when a guilt-free spring break meant that one had refrained from sex and had managed not to throw up in a roommate's shoes. Now for me at least, it means that I offset the carbon from my air travel.

Sigh. So very green...and so very middle-aged.

Still it feels good to compensate for all that CO2 I'm responsible for while I sail though the air, fiddling with a tray table and drinking booze from impossibly small bottles. TerraPass has a nifty little calculator to help you figure out how much of the fuel use and greenhouse gases are attributable to your seat on the plane. For my round trip to Gainesville, Florida, from Chicago, it was 41 gallons of fuel. (Interestingly, this is far less than what it would be if I drove alone or with just my family.) And according to TerraPass's calculations, I'll be responsible for around 806 pounds of CO2 emissions.

The lowest amount that one can purchase is an offset of one metric ton of carbon. TerraPass charges $9.90, so I went to our Chicago source, the Delta Institute, where they sold me the same metric ton at $7.50.

TerraPass

Delta Institute

Comments (2):

pruneyprunee commented, on March 23, 2008 at 10:24 p.m.:

I think it would be great to be able to click on your links...maybe if you add the www?

I am still confused about how the offset actually mkaes the world better. You still used up the same amount of carbon. So how was your carbon footprinbt reduced? Or did you reduce someone else's footprint for them?

Stephenie commented, on April 3, 2008 at 10:25 a.m.:

Typically Carbon offset providers fund various types of projects including reforestation, renewable energy initiatives (solar, wind, and hydro power), fuel substitution, energy conservation, and methane capture.

These are all good things that work to counter carbon emissions. What you want to be sure of when you purchase an offset is that the Offset(s) you purchase are retired. This means they are not being sold again and again and used for things you didn't intend (like helping a company continue huge emissions practices). This is how you "reduce someone else's footprint for them."

The Climate Group, in their "10 TIPS…for purchasing carbon offsets," recommends that you ask several questions of your provider and says that if they are not clear, don't use them. They should be transparent and "disclose information on carbon footprint calculations, emissions reduction activities, the type of offset being used, where offsets have been retired and any uncertainties related to these issues."

Jill sites a couple good resources and there are a few more:

http://www.Carbonfund.org (a 501(c)3 so all offsets are 100% deductible!)
10 Tips... http://theclimategroup.org/assets/res...
Chicago Climate Exchange http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/
http://www.carbonoffsetreview.com/

Archives: