A carbon footprint is historically defined as the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.

 

Any type of transportation that requires fossil based fuel, gasoline, jet fuel, or diesel has a huge impact of putting greenhouse gases into the air. For most of us on this island who can’t drive very far, our air travel is the largest contributor to our carbon impact. A round trip to Seattle creates nearly a 1/2 ton of CO2; a trip to Hawaii is nearly three tons. The average per person CO2 impact per person in the United States is about 19 tons per year. So a few trips to the lower 48 can add up pretty quickly!

 

There's lots that we can do to reduce CO2 emissions locally, from switching to electric heating (such as cost-effective heat pumps) to making efficiency improvements to buildings to contributing to improved transportation infrastructure. 

The Sitka Carbon Offset Fund is designed to use donated contributions from frequent travelers to reduce CO2 emissions locally. 

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One of the easiest ways to reduce local CO2 emissions is to facilitate conversions to local electricity.

 

Sitka's hydro-electricity from Blue Lake and Green Lake is pollution-free, 100% efficient, affordable, and home- grown. The money you spend on Sitka hydro stays right here in town; the more users of local electricity, the cheaper the rates will be for everybody. And at a time when we are all concerned about our dying oceans and other consequences of climate change due to carbon dioxide (CO2), it is good to know that you can save money AND make the right environmental choice.