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This trip, inspired by the inimitable Alaskan ecologist Terry Chapin, took 9 months to plan with a team of over 30 scientists + community organizers to coordinate 29 talks and meetings in 5 days (plus a trip to Denali + a glacier hike + whale watching because how can I not?!).
Why so long to plan, and so many events packed into a single week, from 7am to 9pm each day? Because when I travel, I want to make every kilogram of carbon count. They knew that, and they delivered! Here are the details:
My flights will emit 1.77 tonnes of CO2eq. That's a lot. But if you divide by 29 events (not including the fun stuff), that's 60kg per event, which is the equivalent per event of driving to Dallas and back in my little car that gets 35mpg once the battery runs out to do 4 events.
It's impossible to quantify the potential impact of my events on net carbon emissions, but here's a very rough estimate. Say I talk to 1,000 people. Estimate very conservatively their personal footprint is 20 tonnes per year. If 1% of those people--just 10 people--are motivated..
...to cut their personal carbon emissions by just 10% (which is dead easy: change the lightbulbs, reduce food waste, eat less meat and turn the thermostat down 2F!), the carbon savings will be more than double the emissions of my flights right there.
Most people don't report back, tho. (Some do, and I love it! My fav was the 9yo who started an energy efficiency program at his school after his dad had to take him to one of my talks cause no babysitter) So rather than guess, I offset my emissions with @climatestewards too.
@climatestewards Yes, travelling carbon-smart isn't easy. But it is possible, and it's worth it. And just as dismissives often neglect the co-benefits of fossil fuel reductions, we shouldn't neglect the co-benefits of our travel: talking, planning, and acting together for a better future!
