Travel Trade-Offs for Scientists

I recently returned from the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), my principal scientific society. This year's conference theme was "Global Warming: The legacy of our past, the challenge for our future." Roughly 4000 scientists attended from countries around the world to discuss the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on ecosystems and species. In so doing, we likely emitted more than 1000 tons of CO2 (1). We are not alone. Other scientific societies, such as the American Geophysical Union and AAAS, also focus on climate change while holding large annual conferences. ESA purchased $5 of carbon offsets for every attendee and implemented other green measures, but these measures do not go far enough.