Greetings, hive mind. My question is: how much
biochar would I need to produce to create an honest offset for the
CO2 emitted for long distance driving or a short flight?
I have family in locations that are about 1.5 hours away by air (one way), and 9-12 hours away by car (one way). That's a helluva lot of driving; I would rather fly, even though I don't enjoy it. I would like to see them once or twice per year.
I looked as some of the carbon offsets you can buy. My shortest flight would cost $3.00. Really? Three bucks? Maybe I'm wrong, but my BS detector is going off.
I would rather do something tangible ... and measurable.
Here's my first kick at some calculations. What do you think?
=== Option 1: Car Travel ===
9h x 100 km.h = 900km
Car uses 7L/100k (one hour of highway driving). 7Lx9h = 63 litres one way
x2 for round trip = 126L
x 2.34 kg CO2 per litre = 294.8 kg CO2
CO2 is 27% carbon by mass. 294.8 x 27% = 79.6 kg (179.1 lbs.) pure, dry carbon (biochar is not pure, so this is a ballpark number)
=== Option 2: Air Travel ===
Calculator:
https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/CarbonOffset/Pages/default.aspx
Round trip = 142.0 kg CO2 (I think this is light; this run uses larger versions of the aircraft listed in their calculations)
Add: car travel to and from airports (est. 41 kg CO2).
142.0 + 41 = 183 kg CO2
183 kg x 27% = 49.4 kg (111.2 lbs.) dry carbon for offset
- - - - -
BTW, does it count that I will be helping them set up
sustainable gardens? Yakking about
compost and biochar? Maybe talking about mass
heaters for their greehouses?
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