Is "sustainable travel" an oxymoron?

My dad is a pilot. While growing up, and still considered a dependent (as if I am not one now, but that is a different story), I was known for jetting off everywhere at moment's notice. And why wouldn't I? It was free. For example, I flew to Hawaii for three days on college fall break in pursuit of winning the affection of my cooler-than-school surfer boyfriend. And now� well now, I live in Montana. I moved here to help ME become more 'sustainable' - as the energy of the city combined with my natural energy really just whipped my adrenalin levels into a frenzy. Although that was fun, it couldn't last, and neither could my health in the long term. So now I sit writing on top of a mountain in the town of McAllister, only known as a town due to the presence of the 'Bear Claw' bar and post office that closes for lunch.

Although it's a dreamy existence, it does get lonely. You can only talk to cows, horses, and The Cricket (my pup) for so long and not be hurting for more a meaningful response than a whinny or some bad gas. So, I am a sucker for cheap flights back East to see my friends and family, and to attend all the open-bar gala weddings where I change out of my Carharts for a full-length dress. Plus, I consult for businesses all over the United States to help make them become more sustainable (environmentally, socially, and economically), so plane travel is just a fact of life.

However, when working with a client that provides a mechanism to offset air travel emissions (myclimate), I realized that I was this huge hypocrite environmentalist. Turns out that each time you fly, your portion of the flight contributes an average of nearly a ton of carbon dioxide pollution. (Carbon dioxide is a prime component of climate change.) So, unless we are all planning for beachfront property in Iowa, this is probably not a good thing.

To get the full scoop on just how hypocritical I was being (or maybe to find out that all my other, greener ways would balance out my environmental indiscretions), I took this quiz, called My FootPrint, which tells you just how many planets we would need if everyone on the planet lived like you do. I was excited to see my results -- I guess getting a little high on my green horse. I don't eat meat; I recycle; I drive a 33 mpg Dodge Neon only when horseback won't get me there; I don't even have to chose between paper or plastic because I bring my own (hemp!) bag to the supermarket. I welcomed the opportunity to assess my ecological footprint (bring it on!).

The results are displayed like this: "if everyone lived like you, we would need __ planets." My score, in large thanks to air travel, is 3.9 planets! I found a shallow 'victory' for at least coming in below the average ecological footprint in the US: 6 planets.

Beyond this pointing to the fact that we can't smooth out the world's inequalities by making the poor much richer (because if everybody lived like the average American it really would take 6 planets to meet all our needs), it told me that we all have to find a big bang for the buck way to travel in class� green class. So, now I am committed to offsetting my air travel emissions (what? You thought I would miss your open bar gala-esque wedding? Ha!). Emission offsetting means that you purchase a corresponding number of trees or clean energy credits to neutralize your carbon contribution from your flight. Below are some good resources to do this.

Some Green Air Travel Tips:

Purchase wind certificates. Organizations such as Native Energy, allow customers to both calculate and purchase certificates (sometimes known as green tags) to offset emissions caused by automobile or air travel. (I personally like this one because it helps Native American tribes as well.)

The Better World Club, an eco-oriented auto club, offers free carbon offsets on two domestic and one international flight each year to members who book plane tickets through its in-house travel agency. Nonmembers worldwide can purchase offsets-$11 for a domestic flight and $22 for an international flight.

Plant trees. The United Kingdom-based Future Forests, plants trees in more than 80 forests throughout the world. A global flight calculator determines how many trees you need to plant to offset a flight - two trees, for example, for a New York-to-London round trip, or $30�as a part of the CarbonNeutral flight program.

Well, I'm off to ponder the climate change effect of bovine flatulence.

Cheers, Jen