My Arguably Unforgivable Carbon Footprint for 2008.

A year ago this week, I left my job at Google to strike out on my own. I am looking forward to writing more here about how the past twelve months have unfolded. For now, I feel overwhelmingly lucky to have had the chance to connect with my family, so many friends, old and new, and build a new business (the yet-to-be-announced Lowercase Capital) that is leaving me feeling fulfilled, helpful, and so optimistic about the future despite this harrowing economy.

In that light, while I had expected my schedule this year to be a bit slower and reserved compared to the frenzied pace of Google, those who know me are well aware that I can't help but seek out adventures, whether personal or professional. Thus, I thought it would be fun to label a map showing each city in which I spent at least one night this past year.

My total number of miles flown was down sharply from the average of the last four years, and I spent many more miles in my car as I canvassed Nevada for Obama and made a pilgrimage to Moab and Bryce Canyon. There are definitely a few more destinations on this list that were purely for fun compared to years past, but most were still for visiting portfolio companies, giving speeches, or trying to convince decision-makers.

My chance to speak and teach at Oxford is always an annual highlight, as is the chance to kitesurf on the North Shore. I count my lucky stars every year I get invited back to Necker Island. My friend Jerry hosted a few of us for an unforgettable week in Tuscany for his birthday. Wow. Snowkiting in Utah was a new thrill for me and Marrakech was simply exhilarating. During the warmer months, Ironman training kept me closer to home, glued to my bike seat and pounding the pavement. Nevertheless, I am grateful I was still able to get to Aspen for the Henry Crown Fellowship at the Aspen Institute and Washington, D.C. was palpably abuzz with the transition in full swing.   

All told, many of these trips were only possible thanks to the generosity, hospitality, and companionship of great friends. For those who I didn't get to see in 2008, let's get on the books for 2009!

(In the meantime, though I know it's by no means a cure, I did buy a staggerlingly large amount of carbon offsets in the hopes of mitigating my impact this year. If you want to better understand why we are all nonetheless screwed, I highly recommend reading this presentation from www.wattzon.org)

Comments

[Adam]

But you forgot to mention the most important part! Which airlines did you get top status on? :D

(I'm losing 1K on United for next year because I traveled only 78,000 miles, not 100,000 this year :\)

[BWJones]

Every year I end up keeping my elite flying status is a reminder of how much time I am spending not hiking/biking/fishing in the mountains. Buying carbon offsets is a good idea, and I'd love to cut back on travel, but sometimes there is no substitute for a face to face meeting.

P.S. Sorry we did not get a chance to meetup while you were here in Utah.

[Anirvan Chatterjee]

Hi Chris. I had the same shock of realization when I realized how much travel was screwing up my carbon footprint.

I recently launched a carbon offset info site called Offset Consumer (http://www.offsetconsumer.org/), to help folks figure which of the 90+ voluntary carbon offset providers to pick, and why.

If you write more on the topic, I'd like to see you talk about your purchase process; it's interesting looking at how customers evaluate and buy entirely new categories of products.

[Mike]

You should take a look at this new iPod/iPhone application. It is the first of its kind and allows people to track their personal Carbon Footprint:

http://www.clearstandards.com/carbontracker.html

[frank]

Hy there
good reading
we are on the way and developing a site that will encouarage people to travel but....at the same time try to erase their carbon life footprint for good.