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San Francisco Airport to Sell Carbon Offsets

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

San Francisco airport is trying out a neat idea- selling carbon offsets in the airport. It’s one way that you can make flying a little greener.

“We’d like people to stop and consider the impacts of flying,” said Steve McDougal, executive vice president for 3Degrees, a San Francisco firm that sells renewable-energy and carbon-reduction investments and is teaming up with the airport and the city on the project. “Obviously, people need to fly sometimes. No one expects them to stop, but they should consider taking steps to reduce their impacts.”

San Francisco’s Airport Commission has authorized the program, which will involve a $163,000 investment from SFO, but is still working out the details with 3Degrees. Because of that, McDougal said, he can’t yet discuss specifics, such as the cost to purchase carbon offsets and what programs would benefit from travelers’ purchases.

Paris Airport to be Powered by Water

- Adam Clare

Orly Airport, outside of Paris, will be using geothermal energy to lower their carbon footprint. They’ll drive two 1.7km long pipes into hot water that is below the surface of the airport.

“We have the unprecedented luck of having hot water below our feet that can heat a large part of Orly without CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions. We are the first airport in Europe to do this,” Pierre Graff, who is chairman and managing director of Aeroports de Paris (ADP), said on Wednesday.

The project, launched after a technical and financial feasibility study, will cost 11 million euros (17.27 million dollars). The Orly-Ouest terminal, part of Orly-South, the airport’s Hilton Hotel, and two business districts will be hooked up to the system from 2011.

More on Green Flying

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Singapore is going green too, the FAA is trying to green American planes, and don’t forget that you can also travel green!

To add to this list of good news, Christchurch airport is going carbon-neutral, which is really good news!

At a meeting in Christchurch the company received its carbon zero certificate from Landcare Research which chief executive Rene Bakx says comes after a detailed measurement and analysis process.

“We are the gateway for the best of the South Island, and, with an agreed focus on tourism and sustainability, the decision to work towards this goal was a straightforward one for the company to take,” he says.

He says the status has been achieved by the reduction and offsetting of greenhouse emissions by the airport company operations. Emissions from planes are not included in the calculations.

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