Green Camping

A big part of the camping experience is about being outdoors and being closer to nature.  I'm not sure that all campers feel the same way, but I would surmise that a decent majority of them do.  I've always enjoyed being outside at night.  I think that being away from home with all the distractions that come from inside allows us to enjoy the outdoors more.  One would think then that a camper would want to be environmentally friendly.

One of the reasons we chose and like our Gulf Stream Visa is because it is a "green" RV.  They use environmentally friendly processes and materials in its construction.  Some of the materials are made from recycled plastic, and there is a distinct absence of the formaldehyde smell that I've noticed in other campers.  Apparently it's not just Gulf Stream that considers the trailer "green," but it is also certified by a third party.  Good.

So I was thinking tonight about gas mileage with the new camper, and that it's gone down a bit with the added weight.  This was expected and not surprising.  Although it was surprising that the mileage didn't decrease as much as we thought.  But with all that driving and gas going into the tank I realized we're putting a lot of pollution and CO2 into the air in order to have this nature-centric activity.

So tonight I bought us some carbon offsets through TerraPass.  TerraPass is an organization that invests in companies that help offset carbon emissions in projects like wind farms and landfill gas reclamation.  I simply calculated how much gas we're using, let TerraPass figure out how much CO2 we will be pumping out, and bought enough offsets to .. well, offset it.  Simple.  I've used TerraPass before and like what they do, how they do it, and that they're independently certified.

Other people do other things.  They help pick up trash in parks and communities.  Some may help environmental causes.  In this case, I know that I'm helping to mitigate the impact I have on the environment, and I can help preserve it for the activity I enjoy and for others who do as well.