Funds From Flights Donated For Re-Forestation
New
Mexico's Santa Fe Air announced a joint venture this week with
Forest Guardians to combine jet travel with environmental
strategies to counter effects of carbon emissions generated by
burning jet fuel.
Forest Guardians, a nonprofit environmental organization hopes
to plant enough trees to offset a jet's carbon emissions.
"We are very excited about our collaboration with Forest
Guardians to offset carbon emission generated from jet air travel
by supporting re-forestation in Southwest wild lands. For every
flight, we donate funds to cover the cost of planting trees to
offset the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide generated from each
flight," said Michael Stewartt, Santa Fe Air president.
"We do this not only for the Citation V jet based here in Santa
Fe, but for all the private jet trips we broker and book. It's not
enough, but it's a good start."
According to Forest Guardians, the process of planting trees to
offset carbon dioxide emissions results in 'carbon neutral' flight
since the amount of carbon emitted from a fight will be absorbed by
the trees.
"Our new carbon offset program uses formulas developed by J.
Doyle Farmer, professor at the Santa Fe Institute, in conjunction
with United States Department of Energy reports to calculate the
number of new trees necessary to offset the amount of carbon
dioxide emitted from air travel based upon miles traveled and fuel
efficiency," said Forest Guardian Communications Director, Rosie
Brandenberger. "While planting trees alone will not solve the
climate crisis, the amount of carbon sequestered by trees can have
a significant impact, especially coupled with other energy-saving
choices."
Santa Fe Air is an air charter broker that began operations in
2003 and also operates a Cessna Citation V in Santa Fe.
"It is a natural evolution of our mission to provide our clients
with state of the art air travel combined with the proper
stewardship of our delicate environment", said Stewartt.
"Our affiliation with Forest Guardians sets a standard for
environmental
conservation that we hope will catch on around the industry,"
said Stewartt.
"Forest Guardians is proud to partner with Santa Fe Air -- the
first business to use our carbon offset program to fully compensate
for their carbon footprint. It is refreshing to work with such a
progressive and environmentally conscious company.
"We hope others will follow Santa Fe Air's lead and see that
offsetting carbon emissions if good for our planet and good for
business," said Brandenberger.