Good news for eco-conscious vacationers

Programs let you balance out the impact of your travels.

By Kimberly Lisagor

It's a hard truth for travelers who are concerned about global warming: Whenever we travel, we pollute. Cruises, car trips and airplane flights dump surprising amounts of carbon dioxide into the environment. In fact, travel is to blame for more than a quarter of greenhouse gases, according to a report by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The amount of pollution varies by the length of your trip and mode of travel. According to renewable energy company NativeEnergy, a road trip from Chicago to Atlanta in a car that averages 20 miles per gallon emits 746 pounds of CO2. Think that's bad? Try a round-trip flight between Los Angeles and New York: 2.56 tons of CO2 per passenger.

Eco-minded travelers don't need to stay home, though. A growing number of environmental businesses and non-profit groups are addressing the issue of travel-related pollution with what are called carbon-offset programs. These programs let us neutralize the environmental damage by purchasing carbon "credits," which help finance "green" energy projects such as wind farms and solar hot water systems that will reduce air pollution in the future. This concept is known as carbon-neutral travel.

To balance out the impact of your next trip, start by typing your itinerary into a carbon calculator at a website such as NativeEnergy (nativeenergy.com) or Sustainable Travel International (my-climate.com). These calculators will tell you how many dollars it will take to offset your carbon output. The results vary by calculator, but the cost of neutralizing a cross-country flight ranges from about $23 to $36 -- a small price to pay for a clear conscience.

You also can book your travel through companies that do the tabulating for you. Expedia and Travelocity, for example, offer their customers the option of buying carbon credits at checkout. Better World Travel gives a free offset to members who book round-trip domestic flights through the company. And REI Adventures pays to neutralize the entire impact of its customers' air travel and tours.

"Offsetting is now the best market-driven means for addressing global warming," says Brian T. Mullis, president of Sustainable Travel International, based in Boulder, Colo. "It's innovative, effective and only takes a few minutes to really help make a difference."

Kimberly Lisagor is the author of "Outside's Wilderness Lodge Vacations: North America Plus Mexico and the Caribbean."