Ctrip.com and NativeEnergy are partnering in the fight against climate change by offering Ctrip.com travelers tools and information that will help you reduce your climate impact and shrink your carbon footprint.

You can join Ctrip.com and NativeEnergy in the fight against climate change by reducing the global warming impact of your travel and daily environment.

First, assess your greenhouse gas emissions, or “carbon footprint”. These average trips will give you guidance on your impact of your trip.

Second, Offset those emissions you cannot reduce, by supporting a new renewable energy projects - click here for project description .

What Is Global Warming?

Global Warming facts from our partners at Clean Air-Cool Planet.

The short answer: An urgent global problem with social, economic and environmental consequences, resulting from excessive reliance on fossil fuels like coal and oil.
Greenhouse Effect

The science behind the short answer: "Global warming" is shorthand for a set of complex chemical and ecological processes resulting in the warming of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. It occurs as a result of energy from the sun being trapped by gases in the atmosphere, primarily CO2 and methane.

Normally, the natural presence of some heat-trapping gases in the Earth's atmosphere allows life to flourish by insulating us from the absolute cold of space. Carbon dioxide, methane, and other "greenhouse gases" are released and absorbed naturally in what is known as the carbon cycle, which plays a central role in the maintenance of life on the planet.

Of course, this process has been going on for eons. Ice core data from Antarctica provides a pulse-like record of increases and decreases of gases and temperature over hundreds of thousands of years, influenced by the sun, Earth's orbit, volcanism, and many other things.

What is clear from this record is that the Earth's temperature and atmospheric carbon are linked: when one is high, so is the other.

Since the Industrial Revolution - in about the last 150 years - humans have changed this natural pulse. We have done this primarily by digging up long-buried carbon in the form of coal, then oil and natural gas, and burning these "fossil fuels" - thus releasing this eons-old carbon into the atmosphere. Also, as our population has increased, methane from waste and agriculture has increased dramatically. The result is that we have increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to the point where we are warming the globe and causing our climate to change.

Learn more about global climate science: check out our science links.

What Results from Global Warming?

To learn more about what climate disruption and change mean for the Northeast, go to our Global Warming Impacts page.

What Are the Solutions to Global Warming?

We all have the power to effect global warming solutions, on many levels. Read about what you can do at home or work, or find out how to get involved in action campaigns or broader efforts in your area.

Want to know more?

http://www.ipcc.ch - Recent IPCC Report

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming - WikiPedia Article

http://www.lickglobalwarming.org/learn.cfm - Ben & Jerry's, SaveOurEnvironment, and Dave Matthews Band

http://www.climatecrisis.net/thescience - Background info on the movie: An Inconvenient Truth

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/default.asp - Global warming information from NRDC

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org - StopGlobalWarming.org

http://www.renewus.org/do_something.html - RenewUS.org

 

Carbon offsets are the only practical way that you can reduce your
global warming pollution to zero.

What you can do to reduce your footprint.

Efficiency Audit/Energy Conscious Leases

An energy audit can identify a number of energy (and cost!) savings and will usually pay for itself. A typical audit results identifying opportunities to effect a 30% energy savings.

If you rent your space, work with your landlord to negotiate rent savings from efficiency improvements, or encourage him/her to make the changes.

Buildings and Landscaping

Consider designing new building with Green Building Principles and earning LEED certification. LEED has certifications for existing buildings as well. Building design features like utilizing passive solar and daylighting can generate meaningful energy savings and also help provide a more productive working environment. For more information, contact the US Green Building Council http://www.usgbc.org/

If you control landscaping, consider planting trees, shrubs and bushes. Planting trees on the northern side of building can help to reduce heating costs. Trees that provide shade in the summer can also reduce cooling costs. In addition to the energy benefits trees can provide they remove CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow. Over their lives trees can sequester large amounts of carbon in the ground and in their biomass, however when trees die much of this sequestered carbon is re-released into the air.

“Living Roofs” also contribute to cooling and carbon sequestration and can provide a sanctuary for employees. See http://www.greenroofs.org/

Lighting, HVAC and Computers

Replace incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. CFLs can save 7.5% - 20% of lighting electricity.

Install a programmable thermostat and keep at a low setting during non-work hours.

Lighting sensors prevent wasting electricity.

Turn off computers, copiers and other electrical devices during non-work hours and holidays.

Packaging - Try to purchase things with little packaging. Packaging is just a waste. More packaging results in more weight, requiring more energy to get it to you. And then there is the waste. Landfills can release large amounts of methane, powerful greenhouse gas, so reducing trash also helps to fight global warming.

Recycle (and compost if possible) Recycling saves resources and CO2 in a few ways. Many materials like aluminum and steel take lots of energy to dig ores out of the ground and refine. Recycling these materials saves huge amounts of energy, keeping huge amounts of CO2 out of the air. Composting keeps waste out of landfills where it can break down into methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. In an office environment, try to use Post Consumer Recycled paper and office furniture from reclaimed materials.

Commuting and Travel

Don’t idle your car. An idling car gets exactly 0 miles per gallon. If you are going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds turn it off. If you are getting out of the car at all, turn it off!

Encourage using public transportation/carpooling by providing incentives such as discounts on monthly bus passes or preferential parking spots for carpools. Reducing mileage by 20 miles per week can keep up to 1000 lbs of CO2 out of the air annually.

Encourage bicycle commuting by providing bike racks and showers.

Institute a telecommuting program, even if it for one day/week.