"Paying A Bit Extra Each Flight Eases Guilt, But Not Emissions" is the headline of an odd front-page New York Times article this morning.
The "news" is that a tiny British home rental company, Responsible Travel, stopped selling carbon offsets for air travel. A month ago. Because the offsets "are distracting people from flying less."
The Times uses that "news" as an excuse to talk about offsets, which promise to make up for your share of carbon dioxide that planes, trains, and automobiles spew out during your travels.
Budget Travel recently took a crack at answering the question "Are Carbon Offsets Worth It?" and—I realize I'm biased here, but—we offered clear, easy to understand info.
We also shared some first-person stories of how different travelers felt about buying an offset for the first time. And we explained how a few well regarded companies spend the offset money to help the environment.
Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts below...
Budget Travel Video: How to rent a hybrid
Gear: Magic Mouse as travel gift
I've spent a couple of weeks testing Apple's wireless Magic Mouse ($69, apple.com), and I never want to go back to using a regular computer mouse. Imagine an iPhone-like touch screen grafted to the surface of a mouse. That essentially describes the Magic Mouse. Gesture with your fingers in short swipes and flicks along the mouse's surface, and you'll guide your cursor around the screen. The major catch: It only works with Macs— specifically, only with Macs running the latest versions of Apple's operating system. The minor flaw: Battery life isn't as long as might be hoped. In my use, battery energy level was depleted by 25 percent after the first 100 hours of use. The travel perks… • This mouse works fine on any flat or semi-flat surface. No mouse pad is needed, whether you're using a countertop in a diner or a tray table on an Amtrak train. • If you're a lefty, no problem. The Magic Mouse is ambidextrous. • You'll no longer face the frustration of trying to use a tiny laptop touchpad to surf the Web while on the road. Move a finger in circle along the surface of the mouse, and you'll pan 360 degrees through an online map. Run a finger down the center of the mouse to scroll a webpage. The mouse is considerably more precise than a touchpad so playing video games while you're in your hotel room is now a much more compelling activity. Flicking gestures make it easy to edit photos while traveling, too. • Each Magic Mouse runs on a pair of standard AA batteries, which are easy to replace while on the road and won't drain your laptop's juice (as USB-tethered mouses do). [Magic Mouse info page] MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Which new netbook is right for you?
NYC: Free WiFi in Times Square
The best new show on Broadway is the swirling chaos of the city itself—and the seats are free. Inspired by Copenhagen's car-free Strøget zone, the city of New York has permanently closed five blocks in Times Square to traffic and installed 300 chairs and benches, where thousands of locals now join the tourists every day to experience the city in an entirely new way. (Budget Travel recognized this innovation with an Extra Mile Award this year.) Starting earlier this week, Yahoo! began offering free WiFi to anyone in Times Square's public area, in cooperation with the Times Square Alliance. Access the service using your WiFi-enabled mobile phone and surfing to Yahoo!'s mobile homepage (http://m.yahoo.com). Laptops will automatically see a welcome screen when they look for "Times Sq Free Wifi" in their drop-down menu of possible WiFi signals to connect to. (Surf any site on the Internet, not just Yahoo.) The free WiFi will be available for one year to start, with the possibility of extending to three years, says a spokeswoman. ELSEWHERE Lifehacker: Protect Your Wi-Fi Connection at Airport Hotspots MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL The Best Netbooks for Travelers: Holidays 2009