Back in 2007, I calculated the carbon offset for driving my German car around Virginia, and then made a donation toward renewable energy production. I have played around with the idea of doing the same for all the flights of my trip around the world too. And that's where Tripbase.com enters the picture. They've developed a quick, new Flight Carbon Emissions Calculator to help travelers account for their carbon footprints in our increasingly green-conscious society.
To test it out, I used my cross-Atlantic flight from Madrid, Spain to Bogota, Colombia. I simply entered my flight class (Long Haul – Economy), departure and destination cities, and clicked “calculate.” According to the calculator, the approximate CO2 emissions I'm responsible for as a result of that flight are 0.647 tonnes. The methodology used for the calculator is cited at the bottom of the widget.
While this gives me a feel for how much carbon dioxide I'm tied to for the flight, I wish the calculator could go a step further and somehow monetize it so I would have a basis for donations.
I've added the free Tripbase Flight Carbon Emissions Calculator to my right sidebar. Be sure to give it a test drive and gain a little awareness about your carbon footprint on the world. For the green bloggers out there, you can download the widget at Tripbase.
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This post was written by Dave, and brought to you by Tripbase.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking uses and recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours
- Skyscanner for researching flights
- Hostelworld for booking hostels
- Airbnb for renting rooms and homes
- Rail Europe for train passes
- World Nomads for travel insurance
http://www.carbonneutral.com/ do have a facility to donate towards carbon offsetting your flight, although it doesn’t appear to have any provision for business/first classes (which obviously account for more)
http://www.carbonneutral.com/ do have a facility to donate towards carbon offsetting your flight, although it doesn’t appear to have any provision for business/first classes (which obviously account for more)
Have you donated anything yourself on this trip Dave? For the second time in my life I did pay for the carbon emissions on my RTW ticket although I am still debating with myself wether I’m actually doing something good or just cheating my concience…
Have you donated anything yourself on this trip Dave? For the second time in my life I did pay for the carbon emissions on my RTW ticket although I am still debating with myself wether I’m actually doing something good or just cheating my concience…
Not so much formal donations, as opening my “wallet” to give to the poor people (beggars if you will) that I encountered. And tipping tour guides, etc. I’m definitely not in a position to donate now, but in the future there are no shortage of places I’d want to help as a result of my travel experiences – orphanages in Nepal…..landmine victims in Laos…..animal reserves in Africa…and so on.
Not so much formal donations, as opening my “wallet” to give to the poor people (beggars if you will) that I encountered. And tipping tour guides, etc. I’m definitely not in a position to donate now, but in the future there are no shortage of places I’d want to help as a result of my travel experiences – orphanages in Nepal…..landmine victims in Laos…..animal reserves in Africa…and so on.