China's Go for Gold Campaign
Former National Geographic intern, and friend of IT Erica Schlaikjer is currently living in Taiwan, where she writes and edits the Responsible China blog, which looks at "environmental sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility in Greater China." She sends along this report about Beijing's efforts to offset athletes' carbon count.
WWF China recently created the Go For Gold campaign, an initiative that that encourages Olympic athletes, National Olympic Committees, and individual tourists to offset the carbon emissions from their air travel to Beijing for this summer's Olympic Games. Before you hop on that plane, consider that a round-trip journey from New York to Beijing will emit about 6.5 tons of carbon. It'll cost about $137 to offset, which sounds like a lot, but when you consider the hefty price tag of the ticket that you bought to emit those greenhouse gases in the first place, it doesn't seem so bad.
According to WWF China's "green olympics" Web site:
On March 27th, 2007, WWF began a global campaign urging Olympic athletes to "Go for Gold." That is, to donate the equivalent cost of the carbon emissions from their flights to meet the Gold Standard – or equivalent – offsetting projects. These include wind turbines in Madagascar, solar power projects in Costa Rica, biomass projects in India, and other energy efficiency initiatives. It is expected that China projects will begin soon.
By signing on, as individual athletes or an entire Olympic delegation, participants can become a member of the global team in the race against climate change. Even before the Olympic Games commence, these team members will already be taking home the gold for their efforts in offsetting their carbon emissions.
WWF China has a list of suggested sites to help offset your emissions. To hear an interview with WWF China representative Dermot O'Gorman, check out this podcast from ResponsibleChina.com.
Image: WWF Go For Gold
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