Ben Bressler

Tell us about your eco-tourism agency.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a nature tour company: What we do is take people all over the planet from the Arctic to Antarctica and Africa, from the Galapagos Islands to China to see pandas, to Costa Rica and Panama, into the rainforests. What our philosophy is: We take people out to see the wilds of nature, hoping that people will take a look at how beautiful the planet is and try to conserve it and preserve it. From day one, we really wanted to be focused on the emerging market of eco-tourism, and when we first started twenty-four years ago, eco-tourism was in its infancy. We donate 5% of all gear purchases to World Wildlife Fund, which puts a lot of effort into the science behind figuring out how climate change is happening, and their scientists come and train our naturalists, who learn firsthand about things like what's happening to the polar bears. Today, Natural Habitat Adventures is the world’s first 100% carbon-neutral travel company.

There are some people who say that carbon offsetting doesn't really have an impact on the environment—it just helps people feel less guilty.

People say that all the time. The argument that it just makes people feel better can hold true—unless you are focused first on reducing your greenhouse-gas releases. Once you've done as much as you can in that area—by recycling, re-using, minimizing the amount of fuel that you're using—it's inevitable that there will be other releases that you can't reduce, and so we offset those. I think it's the obligation of every adventure travel company to go beyond being sensitive to the local environments, and do something to take that next step to preserve the planet.

How do the travelers who are going on these trips know which carbon offsetting companies are reputable?

We've chosen one company called Sustainable Travel International. The way that we decided to do it was to go for the company with the deepest understanding. It costs the company about 20-30% more, but we don't want to be in a situation where someone can question the science. For example, when greenhouse gases are released at sea level, it has a different effect on the environment than when they're released at 30,000 feet, and we take the worst-case scenario that costs us the most, because then we can be beyond reproach when we say we're off-setting 100%.

Aside from carbon offsetting, what else should travelers look for to make sure that trips are really eco?

You don't want to be driving off of main areas and tearing up the tundra, for example, or sensitive desert environments. You want to be making sure that your guides are very careful around animals. For example, if you're going to see polar bears, you don't want to drive between a mother polar bear and her young because that's a very important bond, and if they get separated, there's even a chance that an adult male can come and kill the cub. Recycling, re-using water bottles: We issue every traveler a re-usable, polycarbonate water bottle that they can use through the entire trip, and wherever possible we try and give them water from a cooler.

What inspired you to help Colorado's Boulder Rapids reserve soccer team become the nation's first carbon-neutral soccer team?

The owners of the Colorado Rapids U-23 soccer team (the reserve team for the professional Colorado Rapids) have been asking me for years to sponsor their team. I'm a big soccer fan, and I felt it would be a great opportunity to help these kids become great players, but I couldn't figure out a way that it would be good business sense for us—until I came back from the World Cup in Germany. When I found out that the World Cup was made carbon-neutral by the same people that make our company carbon-neutral, I said, 'Why not make the Colorado Rapids U-23 the world's first carbon-neutral soccer team?' It cost us about twelve or thirteen thousand dollars to do so, for all of their driving, all the electricity used in their housing, and all of the energy used to make the team happen. I felt that if we put money into things like that rather than sending another brochure mailing, for example, we would be bringing attention to global warming via the world's game. Soccer is the most participated-in activity on the planet, and if we can get a team like the Colorado Rapids U-23 to be carbon-neutral, and then maybe the Colorado Rapids and all of major-league soccer in the US, and maybe one day Manchester United, well, then, there are kids all over the planet gaining an understanding of what it means to protect your planet.

How did the soccer-team offset work?

We offset that through Sustainable Travel International, with formulas based on how much greenhouse gases are released in their activities, and put the money towards alternative energy elsewhere. For example, we might be buying solar ovens to replace coal-burning ovens for a family in Ethiopia, or we might install solar paneling in a university in Costa Rica to replace diesel-generated energy.

So do the players drink organic beer at their parties?

You know, I would love to see that. Soccer players, young soccer players, they're known to put back a couple beers, I'm guessing it's not organic.

Do you also play soccer, and if so, what position?

I still play, even at my advanced age. Mostly I jog around in circles, towards the back of the defense while the young guys run around and kick the ball.