I found this new company, treeflights.com on the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5147562.stm. They'll plant as many trees as you want, you choose the species. It'll go some way to helping offset your carbon emissions of your next flight. I went for wild cherry!

"I'm a bit of lone voice saying that carbon offset tree planting is a good thing. Just because it takes a long time to work is not a reason for not doing it, but for doing more of it."
Wow! This guy is amazing. If there were only more people in the world like this! Hmmm, which species would I choose? I think our environmental impacts are a very good thing to be aware of when hitting the road.

That's a fab idea. I might send it to my local council. Perhaps they can implement something here. I live under the flight-path as do many people in London (it's surrounded by airports!) and we need as much help as we can get. Trouble is convincing developers and architects and the like that green is good. There is a impending development across the common from us and one of the things there proposing is to redevelop the common into landscaped gardens for the medical centre that is to be built. When I wrote my letter of sort of opposition I pointed out the benefits of leaving the common and many trees as they were. What they want to do is show off their supposed lovely new building and what us residents want is to hide it, the noise it will contribute and help to absorb a little of the pollution it will produce!

Thanks for telling us about this, its a great idea. As a very 'environmentally conscious' person, I try to do my bit whenever I can but I also love travel and flying is one of the biggest polluters of our atmosphere. Every little helps....

Sian

In one of the papers here in London today was a description of Virgin's proposal for their start to trying to minimise pollutants produced by planes. Like being towed out to the runway and only being allowed to start the engines 10 minutes before departure and also being towed into the parking spaces instead of taxi-ing down the runways to their parking places. There was also a diagram of new landing procedures. Sounds good and is a start in the right direction but of course one of the greenie boards said it wasn't enough. They've got to start somewhere though.

I love travelling too and flying plays a major part in weekend breaks to the continent so if they can start somewhere and I can keep my weekend breaks, I'm happy.

What a cool idea! If only more people would try to do little things that will make a big difference!!

Andrea