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Carbon Offset - Frequently Asked Questions
WHO: ExpeditionTrips has partnered with Native Energy
We have partnered with Native Energy, an organization dedicated to fighting global warming by supporting "clean energy"-Native American, farmer-owned, charitable-purpose renewable energy projects.
Native Energy offers premium "help build" renewable energy credits (RECs) and offsets that enable ExpeditionTrips' to directly support the construction of new renewable energy projects that need additional revenues to get up and running. These projects create sustainable economic benefits for Native Americans and Alaska Native Villages.
Without Native Energy, these projects would not exist.
Native Energy is Native American majority-owned: The Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, a non-profit organization of Great Plains Tribes, holds a majority equity interest in NativeEnergy. Read more
WHAT: Native Energy Travel Offsets
ExpeditionTrips offsets the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced from your ship's fossil fuel usage. The total CO2 produced from your ship accounts for approximately half of the NET CO2 that is be produced during your trip. Essentially, we offset about 50% of your trip's carbon dioxide emissions.
WHY: ExpeditionTrips wants to reduce our company's carbon footprint.
While there are natural fluctuations in global temperature, the rate and magnitude of recent warming clearly indicate humans are primarily responsible, owing to the release of large amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Fossil fuel is the main culprit.
Read what the experts have said: The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a panel of over 1,250 authors and 2,500 scientific expert reviewers from more than 130 countries.
There's only one way to do something about the CO2 pollution you cannot avoid creating: help reduce CO2 pollution in another way.
Carbon Offsetting is a practical way to reduce your global warming pollution that your cruise is generating. By "offsetting," we mean equally supporting the production of clean energy. See illustration below.
| CO2 from fossil fuel energy | Clean energy created in place of fossil fuel energy | Result = Your CO2 level has not increased! |
Read more
HOW: Working with Native Energy, ExpeditionTrips helps fund and build new clean energy sources that reduce emissions on your behalf.
Native Energy uses money generated from carbon offsets to help build renewable energy projects on Native American and family farmer-owned land. These projects are of mutual benefit for the environment and local people.
These clean energy projects displace electricity from fossil fuels and therefore reduce other greenhouse gas emissions, making up for the CO2 emissions you create.
As we have a choice of projects to help fund, and we have elected to support Wind Farms. Read more
To calculate the CO2 produced by our travelers we:
We averaged the daily fuel consumption for a range of vessels we represent. Depending on the size of each ship, and the length of each program, we are able to determine the average carbon footprint for each passenger traveling with ExpeditionTrips.
"What else can I do?"
In Travel...
Did you know that 50% of the carbon emissions from your trip comes from your air travel? While ExpeditionTrips offsets the CO2 generated by the ship portion of your trip, you can go a step further and offset your air travel.
Use Native Energy's Travel Calculator to determine how much CO2 is produced from your flights and other modes of transportation, then offset them by supporting alternative clean energy.
Click here to offset the carbon emissions from your flights.
At Home...
There are many things you can do on a daily basis to reduce your energy use. Learn more about some easy steps you can take at home, click here.
"What else is ExpeditionTrips doing?"
In addition to our carbon offset program, we have implemented the following changes in how we operate our business. As we are always trying to improve the way we operate please feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions!
- Offset our in-office paper printing, outgoing mail, and waste generation via Native Energy
- Introduced a paperless fax system eliminating the need for automatic printing of incoming faxes
- Subscribed to 100% wind power for our office, a service provided by Seattle City Light - "Green Up" program
- Replaced the incandescent light bulbs in our office with compact fluorescent bulbs
- Recycle all paper, glass, aluminum waste, etc
- Switched to 100% recycled hand towels and bathroom products
- Compost all paper/food products used in the office
- Greatly reduced brochure mailings and replaced them with emails
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Purchased ceramic plates, glasses, and metal silverware to be used during staff functions, birthday lunches, etc (in lieu of paper plates, cups and plastic utensils)
- Daily use of our coffee mugs instead of those paper and plastic disposable ones!
To learn more about ExpeditionTrips' partners in conservation, please visit our affiliations page.
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