SeeingGreen ™

A coworker of mine recently married and true to office form, we all pitched in and bought her a present. No, we didn’t get her a gift card to a department store or purchase anything off her registry, but instead we offset all the carbons generated by the act of saying “I do.”

In order to get friends and family in one room to celebrate the special day, a wedding typically means hundreds of people flying or driving from all over the country to eat food flown or trucked in from all over the world. Unfortunately, all this travel has a negative side effect - transportation related emissions, including carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. By purchasing offsets in the lucky bride and groom’s name, our office neutralized 10 tons of carbon dioxide emissions covering up to 20,000 miles of air travel (the couple is honeymooning in Cook Islands) and 10,000 miles of driving.

The best part about it this gift was how easy it was to acquire. Without even leaving the comfort of our cubicles, we were able to calculate potential emissions using several scenarios and then purchase the corresponding amount of offsets. The money goes to fund carbon dioxide busting activities, including tree-planting projects, the financing of wind farms and other energy conservation efforts. Two days later, a certificate came in the mail - just in time to celebrate our friend’s special occasion with cupcakes and ice cream (a different type of carb altogether).

Want to give the gift of green, offset a recent trip or learn more about reducing your carbon footprint? Visit these sites to learn more and start counting your carbons today.

www.climatetrust.org
www.betterworldclub.com
www.terrapass.com
www.carbonfund.org