We like to travel.

 Tom & I own 60 acres of land in Nova Scotia. We bought it two years ago because it was so inexpensive, and we liked the idea of maybe one day retiring to Canada. You know, if the whole Global Warming thing really gets out of control, Nova Scotia might be a tropical paradise by 2030!

In 2006, we flew to Nova Scotia for the first time, and fell in love with the Province. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island are beautiful. The people are incredibly nice, we saw moose up close in the wild, the ocean is everywhere you turn, and there seems to be a minimal amount of development, because let's face it, it is not the most convenient place to get to.

So, that brings us to the issue of travel and carbon emissions. To get there, we flew to New York, then to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We rented a car, and drove all over the place for a week. Ugh. I don't even want to know how much CO2 we emitted!

This year, we are flying direct from Chicago to Halifax. That means we are responsible for 1,111 pounds of carbon EACH for just the round trip flight. That's over 2,000 pounds of CO2 -- which is more than 5% of our annual household emissions! Just for one flight! And I haven't even calculated the car travel impacts.

So, what can we do about it?

I found a website called TerraPass. They sell carbon offsets for travelers. So, for $9.95, Tom and I purchased their "Puddle Jumper" pass that will offset 2,500 pounds of CO2.

According to their website: "Purchase of a Flight TerraPass results in reductions in carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere, by funding industrial efficiency and renewable energy projects such as wind farms.

 Renewable energy from wind reduces carbon dioxide emissions by displacing power generated from fossil fuels. And industrial efficiency projects reduce carbon dioxide emissions through conservation.

In this way, your Flight TerraPass results in a guaranteed reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, balancing out the global warming impact of your flying."

How do I know this isn't a scam to play on people's carbon guilt? Well, I guess I don't know that for sure, but after going through their website, it sure seemed like a pretty sophisticated scam if that's what it is! I also found a 2005 CNN story about the project that was started as a class project at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The company purchases carbon credits through the Chicago Carbon Exchange -- so when someone isn't producing carbon, they can get credit for that -- or if they are sequestering (trapping) carbon, they can get paid for that. TerraPass basically buys those credits for you.

It's an intersting idea, and for $9.95, I feel a bit better about the impact of our trip.

I'll figure out the car travel impacts next!