TerraPass Releases Update of their Online Carbon Footprint Calculator with All-electric Vehicle Emissions Data and Latest EPA Fuel Economy Data for US Vehicles
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 28, 2011TerraPass (http://www.terrapass.com), a leading provider of carbon offsets, has released an update to its carbon footprint calculator (http://www.terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator/), an online tool that helps individuals calculate their greenhouse gas emissions from driving, flying, and home energy usage. For the first time, the calculator now makes it possible to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from driving all-electric vehicles.
Though electric vehicles do not emit greenhouse gases directly, emissions arise from generating the electricity required to charge the cars’ batteries. Following the US EPA’s lead, the TerraPass calculator uses the “miles per gallon-equivalent” figure shown on vehicle sales stickers as an input to its calculations. Since electric cars don’t use gasoline, a “gallon-equivalent” is pegged at 33.7 kilowatt-hours, the quantity of stored electrical energy equivalent to the energy stored in one gallon of gasoline. For example, the EPA rates the all-electric Nissan Leaf at 99 miles per gallon-equivalent.
The all-electric vehicle calculations are available through the Alternative Fuel option on the main calculator page. This option also allows users to calculate the footprint of vehicles powered by biodiesel, compressed natural gas, and ethanol. In all cases, the user enters the miles per gallon (or gallon-equivalent) from their own experience or from the US EPA, as well as the number of miles they drive each year.
The calculator update also provides emissions estimates for all 2011-model cars on sale nationwide, making the TerraPass calculator the most comprehensive US vehicle calculator available. Though many calculators use EPA data, the EPA’s public dataset contained substantial errors and omissions this year.
“For literally hundreds of car models, we went back to source data and either corrected or supplemented the EPA dataset,” said Erin Craig, TerraPass’ CEO. “Our customers were helpful in road-testing our calculator to make sure we got it right.”
A look at a few of the most fuel-efficient vehicles provided the following figures (lbs of CO2 per year with 12,000 miles driven):
????Toyota Prius: 4,661 lbs CO2????Lexus CT 200h: 5,549 lbs CO2????Nissan Leaf: 5,588 lbs CO2????Honda Civic Hybrid: 5,684????Honda CR-Z: 6,298 lbs CO2For more information about the TerraPass carbon calculator, visit http://www.terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator/.
About TerraPass
Launched in 2004, TerraPass works with developers of greenhouse gas reduction projects to bring to market renewable energy and independently-verified carbon offsets. TerraPass manages a portfolio of more than 20 emissions reduction projects across the United States, primarily focused on waste-to-energy. With projects registered under the Climate Action Reserve and the Verified Carbon Standard, the company is an award-winning provider of carbon offsets and serves both voluntary and compliance buyers. For more information, visit http://www.terrapass.com or call +1 415-692-3411.
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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/04/prweb5278404.htm
Source: prweb
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