'Cow power' to the Rescue: TerraPass Balances out Greenfestival SF Global Warming Emissions by Subsidizing California Dairy Project
TerraPass, a new environmental service for car drivers, has sponsored enough clean energy investments to mitigate the global warming impact from the San Francisco Green Festival. The innovative project involves generating power from cow manure, and in the process, destroying the harmful methane cows emit.
IEUA is a leader in developing sustainable energy policies that provide integrated air, water quality and resources management benefits. Currently IEUA meets over 60% of its energy needs through self-generation of renewable energy. Last year, IEUA became the first public agency in the nation to receive the Platinum LEED rating the highest environmental and energy efficiency ranking in the country — from the U.S. Green Building Council for its new office headquarters located in Chino, California.
About TerraPass
TerraPass is a service that aids in eliminating personal vehicle contributions to global warming. By issuing a TerraPass to its members, TerraPass utilizes its members contributions to promote global energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction through targeted projects. It is through these clean energy projects that TerraPass counterbalances pollution from its members vehicles. For more information, see www.terrapass.com.
Destroying the methane gas through combustion is a powerful way to fight global warming. Methane accounts for approximately ten percent of US global warming emissions, and is 22 times as dangerous as carbon dioxide on a per-ton basis.
By picking up and transferring the dairy manure to an enclosed plant for processing the digester significantly reduces the release of methane gas and other emissions to the atmosphere. In addition to the air quality benefits, IEUAs digester project is also contributing to the removal of contaminants from one of Southern Californias largest groundwater basins.
Our goal is to raise awareness about individual contributions to global warming and highlight a simple solution that eco-conscious drivers can take to help drive change, said Tom Arnold, Chief Environmental Officer of TerraPass.
Green Festival Attendees will receive their own personal offset for 77 pounds of carbon dioxide when they arrive at the show, as well as a coupon for a reduced price individual offset package. TerraPass offers car owners a small decal placed on their cars windshield showing their pledge to neutralize their cars emissions impact. Drivers pay according to how much gas they use from $29.95 a year for hybrids up to $79.95 for an SUV.
IEUAs digester project is being implemented in partnership with the California Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Milk Producers Council.
IEUAs carbon credits are generated with what is commonly referred to as cow-power. The innovative project is comprised of an anaerobic digester that process manure from dairy cows and converts this material into biogas (methane). This methane gas is then used as renewable fuel to power a local desalination plant, which produces 14,000 million gallons per day of high-quality drinking water. In June 2005, IEUA banked over 40,000 metric tons of Greenhouse Gas Credits with the Chicago Climate Exchange, stated IEUA Board President John Anderson. The 1,050 metric tons we are selling to TerraPass is the first actual sale of Green House Credits from cow power.
We are very pleased that TerraPass has chosen to support and promote our Renewable Energy Project, said Martha Davis, Executive Manager for Policy Development at the Inland Empire Utility Agency. This purchase helps raise awareness about our renewable generator programs that also help to address air and water quality issues within our community. These types of programs help California meet the greenhouse gas targets set by the state of California
About Inland Empire Utility Agency
The Inland Empire Utilities Agency is a municipal water district located in western San Bernardino County, California. The Agencys mission is to supply imported drinking water and recycled water, to collect and treat wastewater, and provide other utility-related services to the 700,000 residents living within its service area.
TerraPass is accomplishing the reduction by contracting to purchase a block of carbon credits from Chino, California based IEUA and then retiring them on behalf of Green Festival. The carbon credits and transaction will be registered with the Chicago Climate Exchange, the voluntary market for trading greenhouse gases which also provides the verification framework for greenhouse gas reducing projects.
Green Festival is committed to holding a sustainable and responsible festival, said Keri Winn, Associate Producer of the San Francisco Green Festival. In addition to our onsite efforts to achieve zero waste, we are excited to use this innovative service to mitigate the impact of our attendee and exhibitor travel and at the same time, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and promote sustainability in the agricultural sector.
Menlo Park, CA (PRWEB) November 6, 2005 — TerraPass Inc. www.terrapass.com, a company that provides consumers a simply way to counteract the effects of their cars carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and Inland Empire Utility Agency (IEUA) www.ieua.org, a municipal water district and California leader in environmental stewardship, announced that they will collaborate to provide carbon offsets for the 2005 San Francisco Green Festival, a joint production of Global Exchange and Co-op America. The sale of the credits will subsidize the reduction of 2.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide, the amount estimated to be emitted by exhibitors and attendees of the Green Festival in San Francisco.
About GreenFestival
The Green Festival, to be held on November 5 & 6 at the SF Concourse Exhibition Center, is the largest gathering of green economy enthusiasts in the country. Attended by tens of thousands of people, the two-day event features 450 green business exhibitors, an organic food court and wine garden, live music, and 125 visionary speakers, Sponsored by nonprofits Global Exchange and Co-op America, the Green Festival is a party with a purpose that aims to promote and celebrate sustainable living, ecological balance and social justice. It features the businesses, services and philosophy that are the driving force behind the Green Economy, an alternative model of economic activity that incorporates social and environmental concerns and is increasingly coming into the mainstream. For more information, see www.greenfestivals.com.
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