Yesterday in class we discussed the concept of a "carbon offset". A carbon offset is when someone or a group attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Frequently, carbon offsets are purchaseds by large companies or governments in order to compete against the "caps" of which are set on their carbon emissions. Additionally, it is common that individuals or companies will purchase carbon offsets in order to offset their greenhouse gas emissions from sources such as transportation, or even electricity use in general.
It is common that an individual may buy carbon offsets to offset their greenhouse gas emissions from travel. This is greatly connected to Elon due to the vast amount of students who study abroad. The current statistic for the number of students who study abroad at least once before graduating is currently at 71%. Now, let's not forget the fact that this number does not account for the many students who study abroad multiple times during their time here. With our January term option, it makes for more opporunities for study abroad, and therefore even more students traveling than from the average university. Should Elon start thinking twice about their study abroad options in order to decrease our carbon emissions? Or is there something else we can do to offset these large emissions?
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