Carbon conscious
Toolbox
By Bruce Edwards STAFF WRITER - Published: August 9, 2009
Environmentally conscious Vermonters and others now have a new option to figure out how their daily activities contribute to global warming and what they can do about it.
Brighter Planet, a Middlebury environmental firm, has launched a free online carbon footprint calculator that computes how an individual contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon calculator also suggests ways people can reduce their emissions. There's more awareness today of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions but like going on a diet it's often difficult for people to get a handle on the problem.
"If you picked up a few pounds and you wanted to lose weight, you'd want to know what do you weigh and what is contributing to it," explained Patti Prairie, Brighter Planet's chief executive officer. "In the case of carbon footprints, most people don't know what their carbon footprint is."
Carbon footprint calculators aren't new, but Brighter Planet (brighterplanet.com) says its calculator more precisely tracks someone's lifestyle choices and how those choices translate into a carbon footprint, Prairie said.
Brighter Planet's calculator starts off with an average per-person carbon footprint of 28.2 tons a year — the equivalent of driving a car around the equator 2.4 times or the energy use consumed by 31 homes for a month.
The Brighter Planet calculator allows someone to fine tune their footprint based on what kind of car they drive and how far, and how many airline, rail trips and even ferry trips they take. Calculations can be made for a number of other factors including housing with such subsets as how many air conditioners and refrigerators are in a residence, the type of heating system and electrical usage. There is also a section to calculate carbon emissions from consumable items including food.
Food may not at first come to mind as contributing to global warming but Prairie said it makes a difference how much of the food that is consumed locally as opposed to being trucked from across the country or from another country.
Prairie said there are easy ways for someone to reduce their CO2 emissions and save money by washing their laundry in cold water and using compact florescent bulbs. For air travelers, she said flying at night contributes more to global warming because heat is more easily trapped in the atmosphere.
Prairie said someone can spend as little or as much time as they want to calculate their carbon footprint.
Once someone knows what they're carbon emissions are, they can take steps to reduce their CO2 emissions, Prairie said.
The Web site offers suggestions for reducing emissions, including the purchase of carbon offsets from Brighter Planet.
The for-profit company traces its origin to an environmental economics class taught by Middlebury College professor Jon Isham. Along with students Andy Rossmeissl and Jake Whitcomb, the three conceived of a company that would help combat climate change.
Two years ago, Brighter Planet teamed with Bank of America to roll out its first products - a no fee Visa credit card and later a no fee debit card that earn points to offset carbon emissions. The "points" are invested by Brighter Planet in wind and methane gas-to-energy farm projects. So far, the company has invested in 19 clean energy projects around the country.
The carbon calculator is the latest innovation that enhances the company's efforts to reduce the sources of global warming.
"It's not just for environmentalists," Prairie said. "It can be for someone who is a student, a young mother, someone who just wants to understand what they're doing in regards to the environment."
bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com
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