Air Travel and the Environment - Climate Crisis, Climate Change and Carbon Taxes

The impact of air travel and the environment is increasingly being noted by air travelers and also by airlines. In an effort to reduce the damage caused by air travel, a few airlines are looking at carbon offsets of their own, to neutralize the effects of their flights on the environment. As travelers, there are hundreds of projects that you can buy carbon offsets to neutralize your footprint on the global climate.

Several major airlines in the US have no carbon offsetting plans. However, these are the carbon offset programs and options available through the major airlines in the United States:

• American Airlines
  BeGreen - "And what’s unique about us is that every product we sell supports green technologies like renewable energy, forest sequestration, and energy efficiency projects. "
• Delta Airlines
  The Conservation Fund - Carbon offsets are spent on planting trees. "In just one year, Delta and its customers have raised enough funds to plant 102,065 trees that over their lifetime are expected to trap 64,000 tons of carbon dioxide–that's enough to offset the carbon footprint of more than 2,900 Americans for one year."
• Northwest Airlines
  EarthCares program - "The partnership will focus on five strategic Nature Conservancy land conservation projects around Northwest's domestic hubs."
• Continental Airlines
  Carbon Offset Program - "Continental and STI will help you invest your carbon offsets in high-impact projects designed to reduce greenhouse gases, such as reforestation or renewable energy."
• Frontier Airlines
  Plans to introduce a carbon offset program in the future.
• Midwest Airlines
  From Midwest Airlines magazine - a carbon offset program is in the planning stages.