If you’ve been paying any attention whatsoever to the goings on in the world, you’ll probably know that things are not quite as they should be with good old Planet Earth. There’s that pesky hole in the atmosphere, a minor problem with over-population and major natural disasters across the globe seem to be going a little haywire. Rumour has it, it has something to do with global warming…

Being the responsible human being that you are, you have solar panels installed on your roof to power your low-voltage CF bulbs, you re-use your shower water in the garden (or, even better, have a grey water system), cycle to work, eat locally produced organic food and recycle all things recyclable. Oh, and unless you have months to spare and lots of cash, you don’t travel long distances.

When it comes to the environment, cars are bad, yes, but aeroplanes are so much worse. If you fly from Cape Town to Heathrow and back again, you (that is, your share of the total emissions of the aeroplane) will be personally responsible for the emission of 2.82 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. That’s equivalent to driving about 15 000 kilometres by car!

Now yes, I realise that this argument is a little flawed because the distance from Cape Town to Heathrow and back again is actually about 19 300 kilometres, which would make the CO2 emission if you travel the distance by car about 3.60 tonnes, but who has the time and money to drive to England?

The advent of jet aircraft has made long-distance travel quick, easy, convenient and cheap, but it has also made it inevitable. Work, weddings, demanding relatives in far-flung lands or the simple allure of visiting fascinating and beautiful places mean that more and more people are hopping on a plane at the drop of a hat.

Guilt-free flying

So, how do you board that plane and settle down to a long and uncomfortable flight with your conscience clear and morals intact? Well, to start with you could plant a tree or two every time you fly.

Now before you snort in derision, this is not just a wishy-washy ‘hug-a-tree’ suggestion, but will actually compensate for the damage your flight does to the atmosphere. Basically, too much CO2 in the atmosphere is a bad thing. Trees actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere (carbon sequestration) through the process of photosynthesis. So by planting a tree, you will — over the years — be actively removing the CO2 which you ‘caused’ to be emitted.

However, not everyone has the space to plant a mini-forest in their back yard, so the alternative is to buy your way to become ‘carbon neutral’. Yes happy travellers, you can buy redemption.

In a nutshell, to offset the carbon that you emit by flying you need to take it out of the atmosphere one way or the other, and the easiest way is to pay for carbon offsets. There are a number of organisations which sell carbon offsets to conscientious travellers, and invest the money in planting trees (reforestation) and other sustainable energy initiatives such as wind energy.

Obviously, it’s a good idea to check that the organisation is legitimate before you begin handing your money over, as there are bound to be those who hope to benefit by hopping on the environmental bandwagon.

However, there are many legitimate organisations and once you’ve found one that you like, the process of working out your emissions and paying for them is very quick and simple. Some organisations give the option of ‘gift’ offsets, so that you can buy offsets for your environmentally-minded friends.

OK, what's it going to cost me?

So, how do you find out just how much damage you need to make amends for?

Most of the websites for carbon offset organisations have a carbon ‘calculator’ which works out the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a particular activity and translates this into a monetary amount. According to the calculator on the Climate Care website (one of the most reputable), carbon offsets for the flight to and from Heathrow would cost approximately R300.

Three hundred bucks might sound like a lot of money for a clear conscience, but against the cost of a R7000 air ticket it’s mere pocket change. To put it bluntly, if you can afford to travel by plane you can afford to pay for the carbon offsets. Simply change your perspective and think of the cost as part of your air ticket instead of an addition to it. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind…not to mention the earth.


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