Ethical transport: the unmanageable ideal?

Rhodri Davies looks into how we can pay back our carbon debts.

The G-Wiz The Honda Civic Hybrid The Carbon Calculator from Carbon Neutral The air travel calculator from Climate Care

Organic food, eco-tourism, even ethical investment: all provide increasingly accessible ethical living opportunities, but green transportation is a harder ship to board. As Britons make increasing use of carbon emitting cars, buses and particularly aeroplanes, change is vital before our Ryanair weekends land us in a permanently flooded Venice or Mediterranean desert.

When volunteering on AIDS projects in Bangladesh two years ago I was responsible for over 1.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from plane journeys. This figure excludes the pollution caused by the hundreds of hours I spent in cars (the jams are ridiculous in Dhaka), train and bus travel, not to mention a couple of flights for a little holiday time - lucky me.

Yet, how else can we undertake our daily toil at home or abroad without polluting the environment? None of us can live in permanent self-sufficient bliss, without the want of external contact. Also there is little we can do about fuel efficiency or carbon emissions of automotives.

But methods are available to individuals to minimise environmental impact. Alongside the familiar - dismissing four-wheels for your brother's brand new BMX or public transport, especially for short trips; car sharing to school, university (STUDENTS: HERE IS YOUR REASON FOR A FREE LIFT) or work; reducing emissions by eradicating rude-boy revving and driving over 70 mph - are more novel ways to compensate for the average 9.5 tonnes of CO2 generated by Brits annually, the majority via transport and energy emissions.

Alternatives to oil-powered cars have emerged, such as those using bio-fuels, hydrogen and natural gas, and it is important which car you buy.

Humming like a male-voice choir in B flat, yet producing fewer CO2 emissions, are electric cars (with zero-emissions possible depending on the source from which the power is generated - solar, tidal and hydro-electric being best). Currently the G-Wiz leads the market. Seen primarily in London, where there are more opportunities for recharging, it has the added bonus of being exempt from some congestion and parking fees. However, it is also more suited to city living due to its top speed of 40 mph.

Hybrid cars - using an engine and electric power which recharges itself - are also increasingly available, for instance Honda's Civic and Toyota's Pirus, and powerful to boot.

Meanwhile, the aviation industry increasingly pioneers the pollution market. Between 1990 and 2000 distances flown by UK travellers have almost doubled, rising from 125 billion kilometres to 260 billion. By 2030 aviation emissions are expected to account for 25 per cent of total CO2 emissions in Britain. Alternative aeroplanes, for instance using hydrogen, are still in their infancy.

Yet redress is possible, using voluntary carbon-offset arrangements for flights. Carbon Neutral and Climate Care encourage consumers to take responsibility for the impact of their travel by calculating emissions from any flights in the world. This can subsequently be compensated by contributing to energy-saving projects, for instance planting trees or buying energy saving lightbulbs.

So options are available to travel ethically. Making my Bangladesh trip 'carbon neutral' cost two trees, totalling £20. With such offers available, ethical transport is not so hard. We could even make it as far as Kyoto.