apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am taking a trip next week to NYC on the train. It's a long trip but it's actually the most cost effective, if you don't mind spending "time" over money. Also, I feel like for now it's the most reliable travel option and since it's mass transit, I don't feel like I am contributing MORE CO2 than what would already be there. And since we are going to the city, we'll actually be driving less for that 5 days and reducing it there as well. It's not exactly the same, but it works for me.

On a day to day basis I bike and take public transit... and when I travel I am either bussing or carpooling. If I weren't a student I would buy offsets for the occasional flight I take. Sadly, until I get a real job (with my environmental studies degree) purchasing carbon offsets isn't really in the budget.

As an alternative I spend time promoting responsible travel to others, and planting trees!

I don't have the money. I'm also not convinced it's all that useful. Perhaps by the time I do have the money, someone will be able to answer that for me.

Third-party CO2 offset services are a bandaid that don't put enough pressure on the offenders. Airlines, bus lines, etc should be upgrading their fleets to ultimately eliminate carbon waste.

My answer, as difficult as it has been to accept and live with, has been to drastically reduce my travel.

I'm also not convinced that it's really helping anything. I'd rather give the money to environmental groups that I'm familiar with and know where the money is going.