How much will your inaugural commute pollute?

With talk of “inaugural glam” and “who’s who events,” there is probably one detail many have excluded from their inaugural guideline list: “How not to pollute the environment with massive inaugural travel."

Over the past few days, I have heard many conversations of how people intend to commute around D.C. for various inaugural events. Many have made plans to travel in 8-10 car-length processions. Now, I have several concerns with this scenario: 1, people will think you’re going to a funeral rather than an inaugural event, and if your cars are all black with tinted windows, you may be able to pass as the secret service— okay, that may work; 2, economically, it is unfeasible to travel with so many cars, as some of you can spare gas; 3, it is environmentally “incorrect”; and 4, did I mention it was ridiculous? Furthermore, many bridges, highways, and roadways will be closed, so unless you are posing as the secret service, I doubt if you’ll get by in a car. Perhaps, by bus or metro, but not car.

People who will travel to and from D.C. will pose a problem, as well. With the amount of planes, trains, and buses arriving, D.C. will become a carbon smokestack. All of this said, are you now interested in the carbons you will emit through traveling to the Inauguration? No? Well, get over it; I am going to discuss it, anyway.

Ecometrica, a Montreal-based independent business that creates assessments and tools to measure greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, has created the Obama Inauguration Calculator, a free, online interactive tool, that calculates the carbon footprint of individuals and/or groups traveling to D.C. for President-elect’s Inauguration. Once you've entered your travel-commute information, the calculator provides computations of the total carbon emissions concerning you and/or your group, which is broken down into specific categories, ultimately determining your carbon footprint to travel to and from the Inauguration, as well as accommodations and travel once located in D.C.

With the dawn of a new year, and a new day with the election of Barack Obama, Bertrand Revenaz, managing director of Ecometrica's North America division, told me in an interview it is time for more people to change the way they view the environment. “What Ecometrica wants to do is change how people think about their everyday activities. People need to understand their habits can affect climate change and the environment," Revenaz said. “Many people do not think about how much carbon is emitted when they get into their cars or on a plane to travel. Ecometrica wants to change that thinking.”

Anyone who has ever listened to President-elect, which is impossible not to, knows one of his top “to do's” is environmental conservation and “green" education and jobs. To assist President-elect with his mission, Ecometrica has been proactive in taking its first steps, especially with its current project to measure the carbon footprints of groups and/or individuals traveling to and from the Inauguration. “ Obama made it clear he cares about our environment. People, who are politically active, voted for him, believing he will make efforts to improve the environment. Obama definitely wants to implement programs to make sure everyone lives in a safe and healthy environment,” Revenaz said. “A lot of people will travel to D.C. for the Inauguration. The Obama calculator will help people understand how a daily ritual such as traveling, can have negative effects on the environment if people do not think about conservation.”

The Obama Inauguration Calculator is an amazing tool. For instance, an airplane filled with at least 80 people traveling from Austell, GA to Washington, D.C. emits 12.316 metric tons of Co2e. Just think: every time a plane takes off from Austell, GA to Washington, D.C., and it is filled with at least 80 people, each group will have a carbon footprint the size of a marching band. However, even more worrisome are those travel distances much greater than the one depicted. The longer the travel or commute, the more you will pollute. This is something to consider not only for your inaugural travel and commute, but also during your everyday travel and commute.

If people do not begin to consider how their habits negatively affect the environment, we will soon have to walk around in either a bubble or wear masks resembling those in "Outbreak". Children will no longer be able to play outside, and all health fanatics, such as myself, can say "goodbye" to organic, all-natural eating. Water will become even more polluted, as groundwater continues to become contaminated and acid rain will harm all animals, plants, and infrastructure needed to support the society in which we live. Fish consumers will continue to be poisoned by toxic heavy metals, as more toxic metals will continue to pollute our waters. You’ll catch yourself saying, “Remember when we used to..." as all the environmental things we now neglect and take for granted will have disappeared.

For more info: If you have Facebook, you may want to install the Obama Inauguration Calculator to your profile to keep a "running tab" of your inaugural carbon footprint. Click here to install the carbon footprint calculator to your profile.

For more info: Contact Aisha Ali at phenomenals@live.com. To read more of Aisha Ali's work view: www.empowernewsmag.com.