Now when you fly Air Canada, you can buy carbon offsets with your ticket. The national airline is working with TreeHugger contributor Zerofootprint to sell offsets that are matched to the distance and the current aircraft mix. An offset for a Toronto-London hop will cost C$ 19.20; Vancouver to Montreal will cost C$ 12.80. Air Canada, one of the few profitable airlines in North America, has been busy finding ways to save fuel (and reduce costs) including weight reduction programs, reduced engine usage (on the ground only, thankfully) and charging passengers through the nose for pillows and sandwiches, lightening all of our wallets as we fly. They have also purchased a fleet of fuel efficient 787’s that use 30% less fuel.

Some have complained that we should have a coordinated national transportation strategy including high speed trains in the Toronto-Windsor Corridor to reduce fuel use instead of offsetting it, but in the absence of any federal leadership at least Air Canada is acknowledging the issue and doing something about it.

Continue reading the full article at TreeHugger.