August 2nd, 2008 Where’s Sarah?
Posted by
Bruce in
Ecoathlete In the coming months, Athletes for a Fit Planet will be chronicling Sarah Groff’s travels around the world as she represents the US in the ITU World Cup Triathlon Race Series. Sarah competes at the highest level of the sport and is currently the top-ranked US women in the World Cup standings.
Sarah typically travels twice a month, often flying half-way round the world to compete. So travel is a big part of her job.
The problem is that air travel is one of the top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally. It contributes about 5% to the total global greenhouse gas emissions a year. And aviation is one of the fastest growing cause of global warming. According to one source, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by air travel doubled between 1990 and 2004. What’s more, some scientific studies have suggested that high-altitude emissions of greenhouse gases are the most harmful to the planet.
So not only do we have a problem but we’re heading in the wrong direction.
That’s why FitPlanet is stepping up and offsetting Sarah’s greenhouse gas emissions for an entire year. Not only will we be neutralizing the impact of her travels, but we hope to inform athletes like you about the importance of reducing your own carbon footprint and maybe encourage you to consider offsetting your own emissions.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of confusion about what offsets are, how they work, and the value they produce. FitPlanet is the first to admit that offsets are not a cure for global warming. The only solution is a reduction on greenhouse gases and the adoption of wind, solar, ocean wave and water current power, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources that have a zero or low carbon footprint.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll explore the issue of offsets, calculate Sarah’s carbon footprint, and look at a variety of options for how she can offset her greenhouse gas emissions. We hope you’ll join us on the journey.
Stay Fit,
Bruce
bruce@afitplanet.com
