Trees for the future: carbon offset programs

Submitted by GregoryHeller on May 7, 2006 - 6:58pm.
If you have been following my blog, you have seen that I am feeling guilty about air travel and the environmental impact. I wrote about this earlier and got some good feedback in the comments from Rolf which lead me to Trees for the Future where I just bought $100 worth of trees to offset my carbon footprint from air travel. TFTF will plant trees to the tune of one per dime. So I just bought 1000 trees which will each absorb 50 pounds of carbon a year for 40 years. So my trees will absorb 2.5 25 tons a year. Each transcontinental leg I fly emits 1 ton (that is per passenger) so really all I did so far is offset one and a quarter round trips from New York to Seattle (in the first year). I have nutralized 12 round trips between NY and Seattle. I am going to also buy some carbon offsets from Sustainable Travel International which invests in World Wildlife Fund approved carbon offset programs. While I might not reach carbon neutral this year, I figure that if every year I invest about $200 in carbon offset programs, within about 4 years I will be net negative on my carbon footprint, and if I continue to make those investments each year, I will very quickly offset my past carbon pollution.
Your 1000 trees absorb 25 tons of CO2 per year!
Submitted by DavidLesikar on July 14, 2006 - 9:26pm.

I've been an enthusiastic member of Trees for the Future for a year now. As you wrote, your 1000 trees each absorb about 50 pounds of carbon dioxide per year (http://www.treesftf.org/about/cooling.htm). That works out to 1000 x 50 = 50,000 pounds. 50,000 pounds / 2000 pounds per American ton = 25 American tons! As you know, the average American produces 20 metric tons (22 American tons) of carbon dioxide per year (http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/mi/mi_series_results.asp?rowID=7...). So, your $100 to TFTF has already made you carbon net negative -- for the next 40 years!

David, thanks for the
Submitted by GregoryHeller on August 19, 2006 - 11:57am.

David, thanks for the correction. I thought that I realized i had a flaw in my math.

I am not the average american household, unfortunately. My air travel pushed me way over 25 tons by my calculation. So I plan to buy 1000 trees every year for the next 5 years, and that should undo any damage that I am doing and more.

Me too
Submitted by Leithauser on January 30, 2007 - 4:40pm.

I am also a big enthusiast of Trees for the Future. Over the last few years, I have financed the planting of about 200,000 trees. At that rate, I figure that four times a year, those trees absorb all the CO2 I have emitted in my entire life. I hope to do more if some of my investments pan out.