Carbon Offset Program

With all the severe weather we have been having around the world Climate Change is for sure something we should all be paying attention to. The past few years I have seen more severe weather while traveling than ever before and when talking with people around the world hearing about all the odd weather situations, retreating glaciers (A long time Alaska tour ship captain mentioned his personal experience in that area) and severe weather they are all dealing with that is just not normal. From flooding going on in the desert when it should not, freak freezes in Texas, Extreme Heat around the World, the normalization of rapidly intensifying Hurricanes and so much more this is something we should try to work together to get under control before things get even worse. It doesn’t take travel to see this going on as most can see the changes themselves.

Travel does add to the world’s carbon footprint for sure but companies are starting to work towards limiting this impact. While some might say then we should stop traveling, but I contend that especially travel to developing countries is vital to their economies and if we cut travel will drive many more into poverty. I wanted to post here a new program that Southwest Airlines (many airlines are doing this as well) that allows you to offset some of the carbon footprint that travel causes. The money goes toward programs like Rainforest Conservation, the building of Wind Power in developing nations and helping native communities. This all helps us travel while helping the environment. I purchased some credits to offset our recent travel at a relatively low cost to me. For 2 people round trip to Jamaica it cost around $12 to offset the trip. A good added bonus with Southwest’s program is you are given 10 Rapid Rewards miles per dollar and they will match your contribution to help a little more. Its a win-win in my book. So if you go on a trip truly consider spending a bit extra to take care of the environment as most airlines have programs similar to Southwest’s (they are the only one I have seen so far that offer miles as well) so we can minimize our impact as we continue to travel.

Here is a link to Southwest’s Carbon Offset program:

https://www.southwest.com/carbon-offset-program/?clk=GFOOTER-CARBON-OFFSET-PROGRAM