Oregon adventure opportunities are everywhere, from the magnificent riverside bike paths along the Willamette right here in Lane County to guided and catered skiing options at snowcat operations further afield.
Of course, adventures are not free of cost — or environmental impact — but the choices you make before and during your trip can greatly reduce how much your fun affects the Earth. Distance, and how you cover it, is the easiest place to start. If you don’t go so far, it won’t cost so much, or produce so many emissions. Remember the bike path? You can ride your bike to it — which is one reason that this local option is often overlooked.
Willamette National Forest researchers did a study a few years ago and found that people want to drive at least an hour to a campground. That left closer sites underutilized. Is a place better if it is farther away? I have relatives in New Zealand and have visited several times. Friends often drool when I say I’ve been there, but New Zealand is very similar to Oregon in many ways: same latitude, a wet western coast, glacier-clad mountains in the middle of the island, and a drier east side. (“But they filmed Hobbit movies there!! All we filmed was ‘Animal House.’” Puleaze!) There are differences, of course: New Zealand has my relatives, black flies in the backcountry, and everything costs three times as much.
Since we’re already halfway around the world, let’s look at some ways you can reduce your effect on the Earth when you fly. Don’t go often, and stay a while when you do travel. Breakfast in London, lunch in Sydney, and dinner back home will give the planet indigestion. And when the Earth gets gas, we all have to deal with it.
One course of action is to offset your emissions before you go. Stop eating beef for six months (if you are a daily consumer), and you’ll balance out a 10,000-mile flight. If that idea gives you indigestion, plant some trees in your yard, or purchase carbon offset credits. Some airlines give you the option right up front. And most international carriers are participating in the CORSIA program. It is a voluntary-for-now, mandatory-in-2027 program to eliminate emissions growth in international flights and, by 2050, make international air travel carbon-neutral.
Carbon offset credits are far from perfect, but they are certainly a step (or a flight) in the right direction. I prefer green energy credits to tree planting or methane reductions. Hard infrastructure like windmills or, more commonly now, solar panels can directly offset fossil-fuel-burning power generation for generations to come. Tree planting and methane reduction are good ideas too, but what grows up might come down, or burn down, and dairy and feedlot operations should be required to eliminate or reduce their methane emissions like any other pollution-producing businesses.
There are many carbon offset companies to choose from. You can do some research (ideally before, but maybe on your flight) and see what fits you (or your business) best. Terrapass is more individual-focused, while atmosfair avoids forestry projects and instead uses electricity production from green sources as its offset approach
Cars and trucks produce far more emissions than flying, it should be noted, and those emissions are far easier to eliminate. An electric car in the Pacific Northwest is all but emission-free because we rely on hydro-power. Other important CO2-reducing options include heat pumps — for both home heat and water heat — LED lighting, biking to work, and a focus on a plant-based diet.
Before you take that trip of a lifetime, pay it forward by committing to a lifetime of not throwing away food. The extra emissions from your special adventure will be more than balanced out by a thoughtful, balanced lifestyle.
