What it means to be carbon neutral
Carbon Neutral - it's a term growing in popularity and one that you may have read about in the newspaper, seen on TV or even heard around the office. What does it mean to become carbon neutral?
The "carbon" in carbon neutral refers to carbon dioxide (CO2), a common greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels like coal, petroleum products and natural gas. CO2 is widely believed to be the main contributor to global warming - an alarming environmental trend in which the Earth's average temperature is increasing, resulting in melting glaciers, rising sea levels, unusual weather patterns and loss of wildlife habitat. Many of our routine activities add CO2 into the atmosphere, such as using a computer at work (making electricity), driving to the grocery store (using gasoline) purchasing household items (using more gasoline from product transport) and flying to visit relatives in another city (jet fuel).
To become carbon neutral you make choices that will allow you to essentially zero out or balance out the emissions you create.
To become carbon neutral - you'll need to take steps. The first one is to see what your household's carbon footprint looks like.
Determine your Carbon Footprint
Simply visit this new website at www.BeGreenNow.com and with our easy to use online tool, you can calculate the emissions created by your vehicles, yearly air travel and home's natural gas usage. (There's even a special tool in the carbon calculator that gives you credit for your purchase of cleaner electricity). The result will give you an estimate of your household's carbon footprint.
Once you know what your carbon footprint looks like, you can choose the best steps on your path towards becoming carbon neutral. We suggest that you think about ways to reduce your CO2 emissions as a first step. You'll find many helpful hints at www.BeGreenNow.com.
Because most of us can't stop using electricity altogether or driving our cars, to become fully carbon neutral will take one last easy step: purchase BeGreen carbon offsets.
Purchase Carbon Offsets
BeGreen carbon offsets are the latest product offered by Green Mountain and come from technologies like renewable energy credits or forest sequestration (planting trees). The general concept is that if you're responsible for preventing emissions in one corner of the world, it can balance out the emissions you expel in another corner of the world.
Visit www.BeGreenNow.com today and you can:
- Educate yourself on the serious effects of CO2 emissions and climate change
- Calculate your household's CO2 footprint with our an easy-to-use online calculator
- Take action by reducing your footprint and purchasing BeGreensm Carbon Offsets to balance out all or a portion of your carbon footprint.
- Join an online community of other people nationwide who are interested in greener living.
- Find out how you can enter a video contest about your green lifestyle.
- Buy the Gift of Green - an eco-friendly gift for holidays, birthdays and other special occasions.