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In a few hours I’ll be boarding an Amtrak train to Seattle for the Living Futures Unconference. Conference organizers have asked attendees to consider their carbon footprint in choosing travel options for the conference. It turns out, I’ve made a pretty decent choice.

Using an I looked at what my footprint would be for my 346 miles trip using my car, the bus, a plane or the train.  Here’s the breakdown:

Plane: 0.18 metric tons of CO2

2007 Honda Fit: 0.11 metric tons of CO2

Bus: 0.07 metric tons of CO2

Train: 0.01 metric tons of CO2

When I went to do my , however, I did not fare as well. I alone produce 16,076 pounds of carbon each year, and that’s with taking public transportation every day.

The Bonneville Environmental Foundation website says that my carbon footprint can be forgiven however…with $218 in carbon offsets. Money paid for carbon offsets goes towards creating new renewable energy projects, which theoretically, would offset your own carbon footprint by creating new sources of clean energy. BEF, for example uses the money to do solar installations on schools and other projects.

My birthday is coming up (in seven months) if anyone is interested. I hear carbon offsets make great gifts.