Aero Air - Hillsboro, Oregon, United States

http://www.aeroair.com/

In January, Helium Report posted a progressive list of 13 ways to spend your bonus and was applauded by eco-advocate Treehugger.com for our commitment to social responsibility.In turn, Treehugger posted a friendly challenge to the Helium Report to continue "highlighting environmental issues and organizations" which we did by partnering with TerraPass and authoring an article on carbon offsets in private aviation. Our conclusion is that it does not cost a lot to care for the environment when flying private. In fact, you can offset carbon emissions for less than 1% of the cost of your flight. Despite his recent Academy Award, Al Gore has been ridiculed by Fox News host Sean Hannity regarding the ex-VP's private jet travel and its effects on the environment.

On February 19, Hannity reported on his show that Gore is not practicing what he preaches when he flies around the globe in private jets to talk about the environment. Hannity accuses Gore of emitting more carbon dioxide into the air by flying private than if he were to fly commercial. Not only that, but calls him a hypocrite for not living the “carbon neutral” lifestyle he professes in his Oscar-Award winning, An Inconvenient Truth.Gore’s camp reports back that "Gore lives a strict carbon-neutral lifestyle both in his work and private life. That means he tries to reduce his emissions as much as possible, and then purchases carbon offsets for the remaining emissions."Carbon footprints have been a point of discussion from both the left and the right. Debate persists regarding the excessive output from politicians and celebrities and the validity of carbon credits.

The LA Times reported last week that, although a man with a "big environmental footprint", Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation AB32 and even plans to develop a hydrogen hummer to help curb global warming. (There is even a mention of our chart below.) The awareness that Gore and the media have brought to the issue is a big step toward social responsibility and reversing the negative effects we have had on the environment. At Helium Report, we maintain a carbon neutral footprint and it is good to know others out there are doing the same. If you would like to reduce your footprint, we recommend you consider TerraPass, or book flights with Executive Charter Services or SilverJet who both include carbon credits in the ticket price of the flight.