One of the unavoidable truths of having visited so many parts of India in such a short period of time was that we had a pretty embarrassing carbon footprint, taking planes instead of trains and drinking lots of bottled water instead of water out of the tap. India is particularly vulnerable to climate change, as melting glaciers in the Himalayas threaten much of the country’s water and food supply, so I’ve got a little San Francisco green guilt creeping in on my conscience.

Thanks to my folks for paying my airfare to India, Ramya’s family for their incredible hospitality and generosity while there, and a very favorable exchange rate, I actually spent a lot less money than I expected for such a big trip. Sooo, I just bought carbon offsets to mitigate my carbon footprint while flying to and from India, and domestic air, rail, and car travel.

At the recommendation of “In India” subscriber Michael Silberman (who first told me about carbon offsets a couple years ago), I visited BrighterPlanet.com to calculate my footprint, and purchase a little over $100 in credits — investments in new green energy and reforestation projects — to “offset” all of the carbon dioxide I was responsible for pumping into the atmosphere while traveling. Here is the very rough approximation of my impact:

18,601 miles AIR transport = 7,599 lbs of CO₂ emissions
500 miles AUTO transport = 754 lbs of CO₂ emissions
726 miles RAIL transport = 154 lbs of CO₂ emissions
TOTAL CARBON FOOTPRINT = 8,506 lbs of CO₂ emissions

Ramya and I are back in Delhi, our last hurrah before heading back home on Saturday. We hardly gave Southern India justice, spending just two nights with Ramya’s uncle Murali in Chennai, formerly Madras. But we made the most if it, sampling roadside coconuts and Southern Indian cuisine (a Thali, a sampler platter of various rices and curries), visiting Dakshina Chitra (sort of like the Indian village version of Colonial Williamsburg), and checking out Marina Beach (which Murali proclaimed to be the world’s second longest beach next to Miami, though there were no thongs and far more stray dogs).

But the highlight of our time in Chennai was getting to see Priya (Ramya’s aunt, Murali’s wife) perform in a traditional Bharatnatyam dance. It’s as much a pantomime as it is dance, in which detailed facial expressions and hand movements convey emotion and tell traditional Hindu stories along to a Carnatic orchestra. Those who know me may be surprised to see me getting so worked up about dance, but Bharatnatyam does more for me than what I usually associate with “dance,” and I really enjoyed Priya’s performance.

Video here:

Also of note: we stayed in the “Ecotel,” where low flow faucets and an in-room recycling bin helped us (marginally) reduce our footprint. There was even a green, tree-shaped button next to the bed which turned off the AC and illuminated a sign outside our room door boasting “Eco friendly guest.” If living sustainably actually was as easy as hitting a little green button I might be better at it, but that’s a topic for another post on another blog!