Carbon Offsetting: What You Can Do About Climate Change

I was introduced to carbon offsetting through my conversations with the notable Dr. Amy Lehman, innovative surgeon, humanitarian, and ecologist. Though based in Chicago, Amy has spent the last ten years engaged in hands-on work in Lake Tanganyika and the Congo (DRC) as the founder of both the Lake Tanganyika Floating Clinic/WAVE and Iroko Health. I actually met Amy while in rehab for my hamstring sprain, while she was prepping for her next Africa project. A truly remarkable, giving human being, Amy is beyond a polymath. She may be respectfully described as the 21st century, secular Albert Schweitzer!

As being environmentally conscious becomes more important and urgent, there become more ways to achieve the goal of slowing down climate change. Carbon offsetting is just one of these efforts. The idea is truly very simple, carbon offsetting allows individuals and companies to invest in environmental projects to balance out their carbon footprint. Typically these projects aim at reducing future CO2  emissions and many are based in developing countries.

All of us at Kipling & Clark are always looking for new ways for us and our clients to give back. Long-haul international flights, in particular, leave a significant carbon footprint. We want to provide an opportunity for our clients to be able to neutralize that part of their daily life when it comes to carbon emissions. This way, our clients and their families will be able to enjoy traveling to beautiful places for generations to come.

-Randy Lynch

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The African Rainforest Conservancy (ARC)

Started by Carter Coleman in 1991, the mission of ARC is to raise funds for grassroots conservation projects and generate awareness of the important environmental, economic, cultural, and social roles of African forests.

Focused in Tanzania, ARC’s projects are based on preserving the “Galapagos of Africa” – the Eastern Arc chain of mountain islands that begins at the southern tip of Kenya and continues through Tanzania. This area has a high concentration of endemic species found nowhere else in the world, some of these forests have been around for 100 million years.

In its efforts, ARC has partnered with GlobalGiving, Earth Day Network, Tusk, the African Rainforest Trust, Aid for Africa, and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group.

Fog over the rainforest in the Usambara Mountains
Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

Projects to Support

The African Rainforest Conservancy works in over 260 villages across 7 mountain ranges in Eastern Tanzania. In tandem with the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, these organizations are protecting and restoring over 1,343 square miles of the world’s oldest and most unique mountain rainforests. Some of these projects include sustainable charcoal production, conserving the South Nguru Mountains to curb illegal logging, hunting, and forest clearance, reducing poverty in the rural communities of the West Usambara Mountains, defeating elephant poaching across Africa, and improving the governance and accountability of the forestry sector in Tanzania.

Read more about ARC’s conservation projects here.

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How To Help

The African Rainforest Conservancy offers a few easy ways to begin your own path to carbon neutrality. Different donation amounts offset different quantities of CO2, whether you want to offset a luxury private tour, a year of business travel, or general individual Co2 emissions. Click here to learn more.