This week, I took public transportation several times when I would normally drive and was feeling very virtuous. But yesterday I blew all that green goodness by stepping onto one of the biggest carbon contributors out there–an airplane.  For a cross-country flight.  And I’m not alone–there were 809MM passengers on airplanes in 2008.

Why does flying have such a big environmental impact?  Planes emit carbon dioxide & nitrous oxide, very potent greenhouse gasses.  According to Greenskies.org, a single flight across the Atlantic would produce the same amount of carbon per person as their home does in a year.  In addition, the CO2 and water vapors emitted at high altitude also has a bigger environmental impact–experts suggest anywhere from 2-2.7X the impact at ground level.

Yes, reducing your flights is the biggest way to reduce that impact, but that is often not practical.  Are there other ways to green your flying?  Pattie Prairie, the CEO of Brighter Planet, had some good tips in a post this week that included packing lightly, fly non-stop, picking the greenest airline you can (JetBlue is the best of the major carriers), and flying during the day.  I hit two for four on my trip–going non-stop with a small carry on.  But my airline was mediocre and the flight was at night.  Now what?

Brighter Planet also sells carbon offsets and their mantra is to conserve what you can and offset the rest.  My flight offset is $28 and that money goes to projects like the Greensburg Windfarm.  Carbon offsets have gotten some mixed reviews recently, but that’s not entirely surprising given how new the market is.  If you want to make sure you are purchasing a high quality offset, here is a ranking of providers.

I have to be honest and say I’m not 100% there yet on offsets. I like that the calculations give me a number that I should “contribute” to offset something ungreen and make it easy.  But I wish I had a better sense for where the money is going and more transparency about “middle man” costs.  So I’ve purchased them here and there, but am by no means a regular.

What about you?  Do you purchase offsets?  Who do you buy from? What do you think?

News Picks:

5 Surprising Things You Can Recycle: You know about bottles and cans, but this article has some other good recycling ideas for less obvious items like phone books, hangars, and tin foil.

Tried and True Eco-paints: NY Times writer tests 10 environmentally friendly indoor paints and shares his favorites.

4 Secrets About Fast Food: Men’s Health editor-in-chief reveals list of shocking ingredients in common fast food items, including chicken nuggets, filet-o-fish, and a Frosty.

Multimedia Link:

Note from Susan: The first time I visited the  Healthy Child Healthy World site, it scared the bejeezes out of me. I had no idea that so many things we did every day were negatively impacting the health of our child.  It definitely was a wake-up call.  This beautifully produced video “A Wake-Up Story” summarizes the key issues, but also encourages parents to take action—in their own homes and in their communities.  Hope you enjoy it!

New and Cool Pick:

The first Green Map iPhone App helps users find green things in their communities.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/williamhook/2830319467/

It’s February and in Boston that means two activities are on many parent’s list:  skating and skiing.  Personally, I’m torn on skiing and not just because my knees are awful. First, the pros.  You are enjoying the outdoors and nature, having fun, using your own energy for at least part of the effort, they have daycare & ski school, and who doesn’t love apres ski!  And many skiiers are pretty green people.  After all, global warming really ruins the skiing.

But then you consider how they actually operate ski slopes.  Cut down trees or bulldoze runs, throw up high energy using lifts, serve pretty bad food in styrofoam, and when nature doesn’t cooperate, make a lot of snow.  Not so green.

Fortunately, the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition has a site for those of us who want to TRY to be as green as possible while skiing.  My only complaint is that it doesn’t have Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, but if you are out West or headed out West, you are in luck.

Every year, they rank ski areas on a series of environmental factors to produce a scorecard (kind of like what Practically Green is going to do for you…).  The grades are based on four criteria:  Habitat Protection, Protecting Watersheds, Addressing Global Climate Change, and Environmental Practices and Polices, which then form a overall grade.  Their work is endorsed by major conservation organizations and they publicize a Top 10 Best and Top 10 Worst list.

The winner for greenest ski area?  Squaw Valley, California.  The least green?  Breckenridge, Colorado.  You can also search for the place you choose to ski on the site specifically.

So no, I readily admit downhill skiing isn’t the greenest way to enjoy the outdoors (this is where all you hikers and cross-country skiiers get to remind me how virtuous you are relatively speaking).  But you can still support green living by voting with your lift ticket or encouraging your local mountain to lift their grade–their eco-grade that is.

Hybrid cars use both a gas engine and electric motor. The energy used by the electric motor is stored in rechargeable batteries. Since hybrid cars partially use electricity, they burn less gasoline than a traditional car and release less emissions, making them more environmentally friendly.

To learn more, go to:

http://www.hybridcars.com/cars.html

Car sharing is an alternative to owning a car. As a member of a car sharing network, one has access to a fleet of cars, vans and trucks which can be reserved by phone and ready to ‘rent’ for a short period of time (an hour or a week). It is less costly than owning a car because members pay-per-trip and there is no commitment. Since there are many members sharing a limited amount of vehicles, car sharing reduces the amount of pollution released from transportation.

To learn more, go to:
http://www.carsharing.net/
http://www.zipcar.com/