Funds From Flights Donated For Re-Forestation

New Mexico's Santa Fe Air announced a joint venture this week with Forest Guardians to combine jet travel with environmental strategies to counter effects of carbon emissions generated by burning jet fuel.

Forest Guardians, a nonprofit environmental organization hopes to plant enough trees to offset a jet's carbon emissions.

"We are very excited about our collaboration with Forest Guardians to offset carbon emission generated from jet air travel by supporting re-forestation in Southwest wild lands. For every flight, we donate funds to cover the cost of planting trees to offset the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide generated from each flight," said Michael Stewartt, Santa Fe Air president.

"We do this not only for the Citation V jet based here in Santa Fe, but for all the private jet trips we broker and book. It's not enough, but it's a good start."

According to Forest Guardians, the process of planting trees to offset carbon dioxide emissions results in 'carbon neutral' flight since the amount of carbon emitted from a fight will be absorbed by the trees.

"Our new carbon offset program uses formulas developed by J. Doyle Farmer, professor at the Santa Fe Institute, in conjunction with United States Department of Energy reports to calculate the number of new trees necessary to offset the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from air travel based upon miles traveled and fuel efficiency," said Forest Guardian Communications Director, Rosie Brandenberger. "While planting trees alone will not solve the climate crisis, the amount of carbon sequestered by trees can have a significant impact, especially coupled with other energy-saving choices."

Santa Fe Air is an air charter broker that began operations in 2003 and also operates a Cessna Citation V in Santa Fe. 

"It is a natural evolution of our mission to provide our clients with state of the art air travel combined with the proper stewardship of our delicate environment", said Stewartt.

"Our affiliation with Forest Guardians sets a standard for environmental
conservation that we hope will catch on around the industry,"  said Stewartt.

"Forest Guardians is proud to partner with Santa Fe Air -- the first business to use our carbon offset program to fully compensate for their carbon footprint. It is refreshing to work with such a progressive and environmentally conscious company. 

"We hope others will follow Santa Fe Air's lead and see that offsetting carbon emissions if good for our planet and good for business," said Brandenberger.

FMI: www.fguardians.org. www.santafejets.com