I travel to Spain once a year to visit my family. Unfortunately traveling by plane is the only reasonable way to get to Spain from the United States and seeing my family once a year is very important to me.  In the last few years I have been taking the train instead of flying for the last leg of my trip. I did it because of price and convenience but it turns out I was also helping reduce my carbon footprint. So from now on I will travel by train whenever possible instead of flying.  Buying carbon offsets is a viable option when financially possible. There are websites where you can plant a tree for $10 or one can always plant a tree for real.  https://www.carbonfund.org/individuals
To understand how carbon offsets work visit http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro … ffset2.htm

Hi Maria, I have a similar situation. I visit family every year across the country and plane travel is off the table for the most part. I also have discovered train travel as a great way to make less of an environmental impact, it is also a great way to see the route in a different way! I had never heard of carbon offsets before but it seems like an interesting concept to help mediate footprints. I think it could be a great beginning for people to start finding ways to neutralize their CO2 emissions and to start supporting others who have off the table situations.

Hi Maria and Nina, this is exactly what I was thinking when I thought of my "off the table" item. Although it is hard to admit, I think that I could not live without the opportunity to travel on airplanes. Throughout my entire life I have traveled all over the world with my family, and I know that it has become one of the most important aspects of my life. I have been to four of seven continents, including Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. I have been to almost 20 different countries and almost 30 states, and I know that this exposure to so many different cultures has shaped my character greatly. When I took my carbon footprint test, it did not surprise me that my transportation emissions were very high and all my other carbon emissions in the other categories were low compared to the people I live around. I travel a lot, but otherwise I am pretty good about living an eco-friendly life. Nonetheless, sacrificing the opportunity to travel and learn about other places in the world seems like something I could never give up. However, I really like both of your ideas a bout taking the train. I never realized that taking the train was a more eco-friendly way of travel. I have taken the train before while I was in Europe, and if I ever go back there again I will definitely consider taking the train more!

Hey Maria, I think taking the train instead of a plane is an awesome idea. I understand that you go to visit family and that's a very important thing, so I think everyone understands why you do what you do. I think that more people should think about if it's necessary to travel by plane and it's great that you've found other ways to travel. Keep up the good work!

I experience the same thing. Every other year, I fly to visit my family in Italy. This has a huge impact on my carbon footprint, especially because the flight is international.   Personally, I didn't see my own airplane travel as such a negative carbon impact. I assumed that because I was using transportation along with 200-300 other people, it meant less of a personal carbon emission. I agree that is it very important to start finding ways to reduce carbon footprints by finding alternative travel methods than air travel, such as using trains or other forms of public transportation.