Global Warming Action Tip of the Month

Greening Holiday Air Travel

USA Today recently reported that after a post 9/11 slump, air travel has risen to a record level. An Arbitron study compiled just two years after flights had come to a standstill shows that half of this country’s 92+ million air travelers routinely take two or more trips annually. Seventeen million qualify as frequent flyers, taking to the air four to nine times a year. Few of us give a second thought to jetting off for holidays, vacations and business meetings…until now.

Now we’re waking to the fact that burning through mega gallons of fossil fuel on hundreds of daily flights emits megatons of the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming. Just an average personal roundtrip of 1,660 miles consumes enough fuel to release 2,258 pounds of gases into the atmosphere, injecting more than a ton of pollution into the air we breathe.

Thus we’re learning to reconsider holiday, business and leisure plans, finding ways to fly less and travel closer to home. Many also are salving their conscience with another practical option. We are purchasing "green tags" to offset the carbon we personally generate when we fly or drive. These modest fees, easily calculated online, directly fund renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power.

Buying just one green tag can offset an average air trip for less than $25. We can purchase offsets one trip at a time or for the whole year. Reliable sources include GreenTagsUSA.org and MyClimate.org. Some travel companies take care of this detail when booking a flight and may even match client contributions.

Observers predict that this growing U.S. trend will soon become as familiar as recycling and water conservation. Newsweek International has referred to carbon offsets as one of the "hottest new trends" for travel–just the ticket for a guilt-free trip.

See how easy it is to purchase carbon offsets at GreenTagsUSA.org and MyClimate.org