PeterGreenberg.com » Greener Skies

PlaneFlying Plane travel is convenient — after all, who wants to take a slow boat to China?

However, as one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, it also happens to be part of an inconvenient truth … one that is making our planet too hot to handle.

While air traffic emits only about 4% of greenhouse gases worldwide, these emissions enter the atmosphere at a much higher altitude, thereby increasing the negative impact on the climate. Therefore, according to Atmosfair (http://www.atmosfair.de), a highly respected non-profit organization in Germany (which is supported by The International Ecotourism Society), as much as 10% of greenhouse gas emissions today can be attributed to air travel.

Combine that disturbing percentage with the increasing cost of fuel, and some forward-thinking aviation companies are becoming more motivated than ever to make some changes. Call it the greening of the skies.

Richard Branson, the charismatic and sometimes controversial founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, plans to help make all of us breathe a bit easier: he recently pledged to donate all proceeds from his airline and train businesses into tackling global warming. And this is no pocket change; the amount is estimated at $3 billion (that’s right - with a “b”) over ten years.

While other companies are slightly less vocal - and perhaps more subtle about their own greening programs, the results nonetheless add up.

Cutting Consumption

Canada’s Bombardier has arrived on the scene with its 84-seater Canadair Regional Jet, which will become the new flagship of Lufthansa’s CityLine. The aircraft boasts quieter engines, considerably lower fuel consumption and emissions that come in well below international limited values. At this point, however, the jets only operate on short-haul flights between airports in and around Germany.

Sustainable Aviation Coalition

In 2005, a group of UK airlines and airports launched a program aimed at delivering radical improvements in carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxide emissions and aircraft noise over the next 15 years. Plans include improving fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions for new aircraft by 50%; improving air quality by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 80%; and entering the EU emissions trading scheme. Those who comply are awarded with a Sustainable Aviation status, shorthand to customers that this airline flies greener.

Natureair’s Zero Emissions And Alt Fuels Strategy

Arenal Volcano Costa Rica You can be forgiven for not having heard of NatureAir before. The tiny airline - though it has grown from one plane in 2000 to seven planes in 2006 - operates in Central America, specifically Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. But it’s a giant in terms of eco-friendliness as it became the first airline in the world to be zero emission.

All emissions are offset or sequestered, explains NatureAir’s Alexi Huntley, by supporting reforestation projects in the Osa Peninsula in Southern Costa Rica. These trees consume the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from NatureAir’s flights. The company has also just announced that it’s supporting alternative energy sources, such as ethanol and pig waste for buses, cars and even cooking.

Recently, the new Silverjet airlines, an all-business-class airline which flies from New York to London’s Luton Airport, announced it was the first airline to become carbon neutral, when in fact it was NatureAir.

In-flight recycling

Green Recycle Bin A few airlines deserve kudos for being particularly diligent in their in-flight recycling programs: JetBlue, Singapore Airlines (who both have a new fleet of more fuel efficient, or “emission friendly,” planes), and American Airlines.

And more companies are coming onboard (pun intended) all the time. So if you love travel, but hate the guilt associated with air travel, check out any of these airlines for a cleaner, greener flight.

Carbon Offsetting

Recently, Prince Charles cancelled a ski trip to Switzerland, and further vowed to reduce his personal “carbon footprint” by abandoning chartered planes and trains in favor of scheduled services.

If you’re a frequent flier (or even an occasional one), you might be wondering what you can do to help reduce the damage done by air travel. Well, the answer is simple. “Carbon offsets” has become a buzz phrase in the world of responsible air travel. The aim is to make a flight “carbon-neutral.” Now travelers can actually help compensate for air travel damage by doing something that contributes to the health of the planet. How?

Well, for every flight you take, you calculate your flight’s contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases. Then you determine how you can offset this by reducing the climate impact of your travel. How you offset depends on whom you ask.

British Airways offers its customers the chance to offset their carbon emissions by contributing to an environmental trust on their behalf. The airline is also noted for its fuel efficiency - to date, it has improved by 27 percent. What’s more, it has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 23 percent.

Expedia has become the first online travel agency to offer such offsets through a partnership with TerraPass, the leading retailer of greenhouse gas reduction projects in the U.S. (including wind farms and biomass energy). Prior to checkout, Expedia customers will be offered a chance to purchase a TerraPass that funds enough clean energy to balance out the CO2 emissions caused by their flights. Prices start at $5.99 to offset about 1000 lbs of CO2, the approximate amount per passenger emitted by a 2,200-mile round-trip flight. All proceeds go towards TerraPass’ greenhouse gas reduction efforts. For more information, check out http://www.expedia.com/activities

American Forests, the oldest non-profit citizens’ conservation organization in the U.S., will plant trees with your dollars. The cost is only $15 U.S. for one tree, which will more than offset the damage done by an average domestic flight.

The Better World Club, based in Portland, Oregon, will take a small sum from you ($11 U.S. for domestic flights; $22 U.S. for international) and invest in tree planting, reforestation or wind power projects, or install energy-efficient heating/cooling systems in public buildings.

Future Forests, a U.K.-based profit-making organization with an office in Los Angeles, will, on your behalf, purchase energy-saving light bulbs for developing countries or, like the others, plant trees.

Climate Care, another U.K.-based group, suggests such offset projects as helping to provide efficient stoves in Bangladesh, providing energy-efficient lighting in South Africa or restoring rainforests.

For online carbon offsetting calculators, checkout these links: