Carbon offsetting... what failed environmentalists do?

Since I started this blog as an undergraduate student several years ago, I have become rather less radically environmental. (Some would say I have taken the "mental" out of environmentalism.)

As a PhD student, I am now faced with the prospect of flying (press the carbon panic button now) to attend conferences. This is an invaluable aspect of scientific research and the opportunities associated with attending an international conference are just too good to pass up. Unfortunately for me, they are usually held outside the UK.

I flew for the first time in 5 years last summer to visit colleagues in the US. It was such a phenomenally eye-opening experience, both in seeing a new and exciting place, and the science that I was involved with there.

I am flying again in two weeks' time to attend an international neuroscience conference and am so excited about the science that I will see and discuss whilst there. But even given how valuable an experience it will be for my work, I can't help feeling dispirited about the carbon associated with air travel.

There has been much written about carbon offsetting previously (Treehugger Carbon Offsetting), so I won't go into details here.

But my personal feeling is
1) We shouldn't really be flying in the first place, until sustainable fuel is available, so carbon offsetting is simply a way for well-meaning middle class people to assuage their feeling of guilt
2) The carbon offsetting industry is not regulated and you cannot be sure the money you are paying will actually be spent on trees in Russia/energy saving light bulbs in India
3) Traditional carbon offsetting is not an appropriate way to "neutralise" the carbon emissions from my air travel

However, I am determined to not let my excitement at attending an international conference override my environmental beliefs. I have decided that my own approach to "carbon offsetting" is to make a donation to the Woodland Trust. This is a UK charity that protects and maintains woodland in Britain, and also plants more trees to make new forests. Although planting trees to act as carbon sinks has not necessarily been proven as an effective method of carbon offsetting, it is nevertheless a symbolic gesture for me that I hope will resonate when I tell colleagues about my own personal carbon offsetting method. Native woodland is important for conservation and protection of not just trees and plants but also wildlife, which is already adversely affected by climate change.

FYI, I'll be getting the train to the airport, rather than a taxi.