Travel Offsets

Starting to plan your summer trip but still want to factor in your greenness? Consider something more closer to home where you can easily and efficiently travel by car or have a train trip adventure!

I want to visit my sister...or have her come out to LA. The sistaXhood have been physically separated too long (and I'm sure our mother misses Z's face, too). Mother's Day? Memorial Day? As much as I love train trips, a train trip up north isn't worth it over a 3-day weekend. Boo. Same goes for a bus trip, if I ever decide to go that route. Driving is feasible but I hate having to deal with a car in SF. Plus, the reason I go up to SF is to enjoy their convenient public transport. Plane it is, as per usual, but it's definitely not the greenest option. But however you decide to travel, take the extra step in offsetting your carbon emissions via NativeEnergy

Along with scoping out airline ticket prices I've also been calculating how much carbon my trip would be emitting/contributing into the atmosphere.


Once on the site, click on "Travel Calculator" (the second box with that plane picture) and pick your travel method of choice. According to Native Energy my round-trip flight to SF would be about 696 miles total. My carbon emissions? 0.278 tons.
Cost to offset my carbon emissions? A mere $12. This will go towards funding renewable energy sources to counter your pollution like wind power, farm methane, or a combo of the two. Not too shabby a price to pay for carbon neutrality, if you ask me. I'd be paying double though, to offset on my mother's behalf if she were coming along.

It's really neat, convenient, and practical. You can even calculate your work commute, emissions your home energy, and general lifestyle! (Click the 'individual' tab).

Definitely use this for any of your travel plans and your everyday living! And if you're flying, some airlines have carbon emission offset programs of their own so check those out if they're available!

future cyclist in the house

I spent $40 to fill up my gas tank this weekend. $40! I have a Corolla and I shouldn't be paying this much for gas! Damn you high gas prices. This whole debacle makes my whole desire to get a bike to commute to work increase more and more!

Today was the first day driving to my new office. I did two things: scouted out my future bike route and scouted out the transit stops. I also looked our for fellow bikers who I can befriend in the future and cafes along the way. It's only about 5 miles so the biking won't be so bad. I just haven't ridden a bike in so long so it will take some getting used to again. And sadly, like many streets in LA, I did not see designated bike lanes.

The hunt for a used bike has been going on for a few weeks now to no avail. Maybe because I was scoping out new bikes a few weeks ago and the used bikes I've encountered so far have not come close to the new ones I've been lusting over.

First I was hesitant to just buy a new bike right off the bat. I am known for some compulsive purchases so I figured I would hold out and shop around for a bit. But I have found a bike shop in between my new office and home so I can easily get dropped off there and ride my bike home.
At the rate I'm paying for gas right now, the money that goes to my fill-ups can just go into my bike fund.

I'll keep you posted on my mission!