What's that? A carbon offset is a sort of credit you can purchase to balance out the environmental impact of your travel.
Here's how it works. When you travel, you release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. You can balance out these emissions through projects that help capture or prevent more emissions. Buying a carbon offset means funding a project that does just that.
So where can you buy these offsets? Try The Good Traveler! The program originates from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's own Environmental Affairs team. The Good Traveler's projects range from forest restoration, compost facilities, wind farms, methane capture, and clean technology solutions—all of which are certified to ensure your money is going to a good, green cause.
For just $2 you can offset 1,000 miles of flying or 400 miles of driving. Now that's an affordable gift! To date, The Good Traveler has offset over 135 million miles of travel, which is the equivalent of removing 46 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or offsetting over 5,000 trips around the earth.
Want to buy offsets in-person at SAN? Visit these locations and tell the cashier you'd like to purchase a Good Traveler carbon offset!
This holiday season, give the gift of carbon offsets, or buy some for yourself and embrace the "leave no trace" mentality.