[Originally posted at OnEnsemble.org]
Update (220209)
Goals achieved early! The pandemic killed off the last of my air travel, so flying is no longer the largest source of my CO2 production. In the coming years, I'll be turning my attention to quantifying and improving my other sources. The good news is that my career as a performer transitioned very smoothly from fight-intensive touring, to electric-vehicle touring and at-home composition.
Update (181101)
Halfway through the 10-year plan to reduce my CO2 from flying, the task has become more challenging. Each year I reduce my carbon budget by 2 tons and giving up the first 8 tons (over four years) didn't present too many challenges. But this year (2018) was the first that I wasn't able to achieve my goal (I generated 8.4 tons, going over my budget of 6.5 tons), and had to borrow CO2 from my 2019 budget. From here on, it looks like I'll need to be diligent and creative to reach the sustainability goal of 1.5 tons / year.
The original blog post for this essay disappeared with On Ensemble's new site but I believe the essay was originally published in June of 2014.