This festive season I'm sure many of you have trips planned, or flights booked to go home and spend time with your family. While the festive season completely calls for family time, and for many that means travelling distances, a great way to travel eco friendly is to carbon offset!
What is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting is the opportunity for individuals and businesses to invest in projects that prevent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere. So if your travel activities result in one tonne of emissions being released, you can make up for that with offsetting that impact by purchasing a carbon offset equal to one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.
There are options when you book your flights to carbon offset your flights through various initiatives that airline has chosen. Qantas has great carbon offset choices such as, conserving Tasmania's wilderness, empowering rainforest communities, improving Cambodian air quality and protecting the Peruvian Amazon.
However, you don't have to just carbon offset through the services the airline provides, you can do it on your own! If you know you have to fly or drive somewhere, why not plant trees by yourself? Or invest in other things you know will prevent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You could make a commitment to cut or eliminate your red meat intake, or decide to not by anything new for a period of time... or forever!
There are plenty of options, they can be found on 1 Million Women's Our six ways to live simply page.
While carbon offsetting is controversial, because it doesn't actually stop carbon dioxide from being emitted into the air, it simply invests into initiatives that are good for the environment. However, if you need to fly somewhere, which all of us do at some point, and such a great technological advance in human history as the Aeroplane should definitely not go unused. How else could we so easily travel and immerse ourselves in other cultures, or close the gaps between long distance relationships, there are so many great things that come with the ability to fly somewhere. Which is why Carbon offsetting is a great way to counter the emissions that are put into the atmosphere because of this amazing invention.
Check out the Carbon Neutral website for information on offsetting, their website states, "We help organisations and individuals across Australia minimise their impact on the environment by working with them to measure, reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions." They have plenty of initiatives and projects to help you offset your carbon emissions.
So, if you need to travel this festive season, or just want to take your family on a nice Christmas trip, then consider carbon offsetting your flights or car travel. You'll feel better about it, and the environment will benefit from your festivities!
[Image: Shutterstock]
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