Continued from page 1
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS PRODUCED BY DRIVING YOUR CAR
CO2 emissions come primarily from burning of fossil fuels for energy. When you drive your car, use public transportation, use electricity in your home or at work, or fly on an airplane, you are contributing CO2 emissions into air. Most consumer products you buy are made with energy from burning fossil fuels that produce CO2.
But there are also other ways to make energy. Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass are called "clean" energy sources because they don't produce CO2.
Today, various products are available that allow you to offset CO2 you produce by purchasing an equivalent amount of energy from renewable sources that do not produce CO2. This CO2-free energy flows into a local or national grid, eliminating need to burn fossil fuels that would create same amount of CO2. So while your car is still adding CO2 to atmosphere, your purchase of renewable energy is subtracting same amount of CO2 that would have gone into atmosphere someplace else.
TerraPass is one organization that has a program to purchase renewable energy to offset CO2 produced by your car. You simply choose TerraPass that corresponds to type of car and number of miles you drive. Terra Pass guarantees money from your membership will result in a reduction of carbon dioxide that counterbalances pollution from your car through purchase of renewable energy certificates. You get a TerraPass decal for your car and good feeling that you are doing something to keep our climate as nature intended. My husband and I each purchased a TerraPass for our cars. A TerraPass for my husband's efficient Geo Metro was only $39.95/year and my TerraPass for my Honda Del Sol was $49.95/year. A small price to pay to do something real and practical to protect our beautiful planet.
Hailed as "The Queen of Green" by the New York Times, Debra Lynn Dadd has been a leading consumer advocate for products and lifestyle choices that are better for health and the environment since 1982. Visit her website at http://www.dld123.com to learn more about her new book Home Safe Home, to sign up for her free email newsletters, and to browse 100s of links to 1000s of nontoxic, natural and earthwise products.