Try, if you can, to picture one BILLION people in your mind. Can you do it? What does it look like? Now, if you can, picture that same one billion people hopping onto planes, stepping in to cars, boarding cruise ships and circling around the globe. Now, what did THAT look like? How much gas do you think that burned? How much energy did it use? And more importantly how much carbon was expelled into the atmosphere? It's something to think about because you just imagined what happens each year here on earth: 1 billion people, traveling. With that many people touring the planet it's almost our responsibility to start thinking about environmentally friendly travel options, and luckily there are options!

Carbon offsetting programs exist to help travelers negate the amount of emissions their particular trip will create in the atmosphere and are important because…well, you just imagined the amount of emissions world travel creates. These programs usually work in one of two ways and are either pro-active or re-active. Pro-active programs usually help fund renewable energy sources and look to solutions for a cleaner future. These programs usually focus on supporting clean energy and its progression, in the form of wind power, solar power, hydroelectric power and biofuel. The re-active offset programs help to offset pollution that has already been expelled into the atmosphere. These programs focus on planting trees which will consume the carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere now, to help clean up the mess we've already made…and that we continue to make. Choosing to go carbon neutral is one of the gateways to responsible travel. Just an FYI, a single round trip flight from Orlando to NYC with 50 passengers will expel a half a ton of CO2 into the air.

When you were imagining your one billion people circling the planet, did you think about where they might stay? What about how many showers they took or how many towels they had washed? Did they use the air conditioner in their hotel room, and how many of them actually turned it off when they left? Energy use is another huge contributor to global warming because our current methods to produce it burn fossil fuels, and release greenhouse gasses. Luckily hotels around the world have taken a notice to this and are many of them are coming up with ways to reduce their consumption of both energy and water resources. When making your travel arrangements, you can book with one of these green hotels by clicking here, and if you can't find one in your particular destination, there are things you can do to green-up your stay.

Air travel isn't the only mode of transportation burning up gasoline and emitting carbon dioxide. Automobiles and SUV emissions help to create a HUGE portion of the CO2 collection in the atmosphere. That's why hybrid cars and low emission vehicles are all the rage these days, and even if you don't own one of these clean machines many companies allow you to rent one! If you're planning on taking a long road trip or doing a lot of driving on your vacation, consider a hybrid car rental. You'll save your own car plenty of wear and tear, you'll save money on gas, and the earth will thank you for reducing your carbon footprint!

So as the number of people traveling each year increases, it's important to know that there are ways to ensure the amount of carbon emitted along with them actually decreases. Of course, staying at home and cleaning the house with the lights off on your next vacation would definitely be the best way to go carbon neutral…but what fun would that be?