By far the largest impact to my carbon footprint was transportation, specifically flying. This is because I have family across the country that I visit twice a year, as well as I travelled to visit extended family across the world for the first time this year. This is a difficult decision for me, because while I care a lot about lowering my carbon footprint, I do not know if it is worth it to sacrifice seeing my family. Though my family does purchase carbon offsets to help mitigate the impact, I still feel bad about flying so much when I know it has such a huge negative impact. I think this is a difficult issue for people who live far away from their families, and I'm not sure what is the right thing to do.

Hi tivakc, I think what you are saying makes perfect sense; yes, it uses lots of carbon to fly places but it's also necessary if you want to stay in touch with your family. I also have family out of the country and in different Provences that I would not give up seeing just because of the environmental impact. There are so many other things I (and many others do) to reduce their carbon footprint. I believe it is up to the government and engineers to make flying more sustainable. The plane was a great invention at the time but now as the environment is at risk, it is time for a change, and unfortunately, as individuals, we can not make this change. However, we can write letters and campaign for a change.

I agree with what was said above as for me flying was the biggest part of my carbon footprint but it is off the table to change as i also have family on the other side of the country which makes them very hard to reach if not flying. I also agree with the fact that companies could find a way to make aircraft travel more carbon friendly as for lots of people not flying is impossible.

This post really resonated at lot with me because transportation, and more specifically flying, is by far the aspect of my lifestyle that contributes the most to my carbon footprint. I deeply care about the environment, sustainability and my personal environmental impact, but I have family all across that country in the states of Georgia, Michigan, Alaska, Tennessee, Washington DC and Colorado and Minnesota. For reference, I live in California, and it is incredibly important for all the members of my family that we visit each other. Like tivakc, my family also purchases carbon offsets but that does not make up for environmental harm. I also think that TeaganCR has a really good point in saying that the government and engineers need to be addressing the environmental costs of flight but I also believe it is up the individuals to make other significant carbon footprint reducing changes in their lives such as eating less meat, especially if giving up flying is not an option.  Finally, I think in addition to the work that governments and those who design airplanes can do to make flight more sustainable, I strongly believe that we also need to hold the large airplane coperations accountable.

My carbon footprint was pretty average until it came to the transportation section, so I relate to this a lot! My carbon footprint escalated quickly when I put in all my flight information from the past year which made me feel a bit helpless. My family loves to travel which I am eternally grateful for, but I had no idea it was hurting our planet so much. It makes me sad to realize that experiencing different cultures, traditions, and new places comes with the price of destructive carbon emissions. I wonder if there are any other materials we could use to make planes fly but travel still safe and accessible?

I completely agree. My family and I prioritize keeping our footprint low in as many areas as we can and my footprint is well below average in all categories except for transportation. I've take 2 to 3 roundtrip flights across the country each year to visit family and participate in national sports competitions. Both of these are non-negotiables for me, especially seeing family. I, like many people, am not willing to sacrifice time with family to lower carbon footprint. What we need is to find a way to lower the carbon emissions of flying or find another alternative.

I  agree with you for the most part.My carbon footprint was either average or below slightly above average in all the categories except for transportation. Transportation made up just about half of my carbon footprint.However, flying is really important to my family, and is one of my family's core values. Because this, I have been to so many cool places, but I now recognize that comes at a cost of really high carbon emissions. However, when I am older, and have more control over my life, I will try to explore some local places in and around my province  or Canada that require less flying.