Jet-set? Carbon off-set!

I'm off to Vegas for a trade show this week. And I've been thinking about all the flying I've done.

I'm one of the millions of business commuters that travel around this vast country in the name of work. None of us think twice about it because we don't pay the bill! We *might* think twice about which airline we fly , but only for the frequent flyer miles we're collecting!

Delta sent me a message about its "Conservation Fund" which plants trees on behalf of Delta's passengers at Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. This got me thinking.

Terrapass In the past, I bought a airline ticket for a personal trip on Expedia and was offered numerous options. The one that caught my eye was Terrapass, a service that lets travelers pay a surcharge according to how far they travel so trees can be planted to try to offset the carbon-emissions created by flying. I bought a pass for the 3-4000 miles I was traveling, but haven't bought another since. Not because I don't want to, but mainly because it's not offered through all retailers I buy tickets from, and also because any corporate travel agent isn't part of this type of scheme.

Federal, international and global taxation There's no way we will ever eliminate business travel, or expect people to pay extra voluntarily, so I think that companies should have to be penalized financially as a travel *dis*incentive! What's wrong with web-meetings? If governments created a mandatory environmental travel tax we would be well on the way to changing ill habits. I see it like the central London Congestion Tax on all motor vehicles. In this case, instead of putting the money into infrastructure, the "taxed" money would go into protecting the environment.

Practical ways to help the environment

Today is Blog Action Day...on October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

My environmental consciousness finds comfort in avoiding needlessly imported products and goods whenever I can. What I mean is that I don't buy Australian or other far-off country's wine. California has amazing 'local' wines starting at really cheap prices (BevMo 5 cent specials?), so why import!?

The other thing I've started to do when I can is pay money towards a carbon-offset scheme when I travel on a plane. It's a practical way to contribute to programs that try to balance the global warming effect we all contribute to.

The next step has to be to switch to low-energy light bulbs...if Wal-Mart can make a conscious effort to stock them, the least we can do is buy them...although I've never bought anything from Wal-Mart. I'm kinda proud of that!

Blog Action Day is about MASS participation. That means we need you!