This holiday season, airlines in the US transported more than 45 million passengers. That’s a lot of trips home to see mom and dad (or vacations to see the beach). It’s also a lot of carbon emissions. The US aviation industry produces about 11 percent of the country’s transportation-related emissions annually. Globally, about 2 to 3 percent of emissions come from air travel, and that number is only expected to grow as more and more people are able to afford it.

So what can a climate-conscious traveler do? In Austin, there is now a new option. Earlier this month the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport announced that it is among the first to pilot the expansion of The Good Traveler Program, which allows passengers to purchase $2 carbon offsets for every 1,000 miles of flying. Plus, by joining the program, you’re able to choose which project your offset helps to fund, which can include anything from wind farms to forestry. More info>>

To join the program, you can visit the Austin Airport website and click on The Good Traveler icon or visit www.thegoodtraveler.org.