Eco-happenings: A starring role for the environment

Always a highlight of the autumn social season in Milford, Penn., the spotlights rise once again on the eighth annual Black Bear Film Festival Oct. 11- 14 at the Milford Theatre. I am looking forward to "Envirofest," the mini-fest within the festival, which is a free event on Oct. 14, held at the Grey Towers National Historic Site. "Envirofest" will include environmentally conscious films, talks, and info booths to help educate and enlighten us on the current conditions of our natural world. Connections journalist and green lifestyle expert, Lisa Alexander, and I will be at "Envirofest" to take part in discussions. After a quiet "local" summer in Pike County, early fall required a flurry of travel for me with business trips, a family visit to Canada, and multiple excursions up to Harvard where school is once again in session. In only one week, I clocked over 2,500 miles on my aging Suzuki Grand Vitara. My car is hardly a gas mileage performer, getting only 23 miles per gallon at best on the highway, so my road trips were neither cheap nor eco-friendly. Although someday I would like to own a hybrid Prius, for the moment graduate school tuition fees prevent such a purchase. What is a "green gal" to do? It is easy, until I own that Prius, I can follow simple rules to max out my gas mileage. Having a car's fluids changed in a timely manner and correct tire inflation are vital for good gas mileage. So before I set off on my journeys, I stopped into Milford Auto Spa for an oil change and to see how my tires were doing. After Steve left me in the waiting room to contemplate the fact that my two front tires were bald and needed to be replaced, I noticed an ad on the wall that Milford Auto Spa now offers nitrogen to inflate tires for better gas mileage and a "greener" ride. I decided that besides the two new tires, getting all four inflated with nitrogen was a must as preparation for my trip. Why would I consider paying to have my tires filled when air is still mostly free? According to the Get Nitrogen Institute (GNI), tires inflated with nitrogen maintain proper pressure better than air, keep the recommended "contact patch" on the road longer, and reduce rolling resistance, which translates to better fuel economy and fewer toxic emissions into our atmosphere. A calculator on the GNI website suggests that by my filling up my car's tires with nitrogen, I could achieve $184 in gas savings a year and reduce my carbon emissions. Having maximized the conditions for my vehicle to guzzle less gas, my thoughts turned to the air flight up to Montreal that I was about to take. Air travel is a much scarier carbon emission monster than auto travel, and a consumer has no ability to pull a jet into the local garage for a little pre-flight maintenance to help reduce carbon emissions. However, we can buy carbon offsets. You may have heard the term carbon offset before, but just what is it really? We all create carbon dioxide emissions through our energy use: driving or flying, running computers and other electronics, or heating and cooling our homes. Carbon offsetting is a means to reducing an equal amount of carbon in the atmosphere to offset the carbon emissions from your energy use, often referred to as a carbon footprint. This allows you to reduce your climate footprint by financially supporting projects that reduce carbon dioxide emission and minimize or eliminate your carbon footprint. I chose to buy my carbon offsets from Carbonfund.org, a non-profit organization. They are partners with many well known companies such as Volkswagen, Lancome, and Dell Computers, all public companies that are held accountable to shareholders; therefore, due diligence would have been thoroughly done. I could be confident that Carbonfund.org would be investing in legitimate renewable energy projects. They achieve 93% of all offset fees going directly into financing of renewable energy programs; only 7% goes into overhead costs and employee salaries. On a more serious note, it is now official: the European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed through satellite photographs that the arctic Northeast Passage is now fully navigable. Global warming has diminished the area covered by sea ice in the Arctic, shrinking to its lowest level since satellite measurements began 30 years ago. Seeing this as a positive result of climate change, the U.S., Russia, Canada, and Denmark are already in heated discussions over rights of sovereignty in these seas, which will eliminate the need for many ships to travel through the Panama Canal. Although I appreciate that this open sea passage means less fuel could be consumed for shipping goods around the world and carbon emissions reduced, I feel sadness at this news. Maybe it is nostalgia on my part, but the geography of this area of the world is gone forever. Call me a cynic, but I am sure this situation will not only boil down to everyone enjoying cheaper prices at Costco, but is a sign of more serious times to come. When it comes to climate change, nothing is for free. Holley Chant is currently studying environmental management at Harvard University Extension and is the daughter of Dave Chant, owner of Davis R. Chant Realtors, Milford, Pa.