SITE ANNOUNCES CARBON OFFSET INITIATIVE TO MAKE THE INTERNET GREEN

GreenLogo.com Will Provide Free Carbon Offsetting to Individual Websites

Las Vegas, NV (December 2, 2008) — GreenLogo.com, a new program to offset carbon dioxide emissions for the Internet was introduced today by Vroom Vroom Vroom, an eco-friendly car rental site that recently made its U.S. debut.

Research shows that the Information and Computer Technology (ICT) industry produces more carbon dioxide than the entire aviation industry. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas widely considered a contributor to global climate change. It is estimated that the Internet produces approximately 5,196.3417 metric tons (mt) of CO₂ per hour—that’s more than 124,000mt a day! This is a result of the electricity required to run every website 24/7, and to power the individual computers that access each of those sites.

Along with other eco-friendly efforts by Vroom Vroom Vroom, the goal of GreenLogo.com is to reduce the impact on the environment and to increase consumer awareness. “Our business model is based on two things,” says Peter Thornton, CEO of Vroom Vroom Vroom, “car rentals and the Internet—both measurable contributors of CO₂ emissions. With the GreenLogo program, we are able to neutralize our carbon footprint and help others to do the same.”

Thornton notes that their objective with GreenLogo.com — to minimize the environmental impact of millions of Internet users worldwide — is a unique undertaking for a travel provider, but Vroom Vroom Vroom wants to be known as a company with a conscience. Plus, GreenLogo.com serves as a platform to increase brand recognition, reach eco-conscious partners and build future green programs.

— MORE —

Companies and individuals can sign up on GreenLogo.com to have their Web site’s CO₂ emissions offset for free. Emissions for each site will be estimated based on the amount of electricity used to view their Web pages and the number of visitors and page views it receives per month. Vroom Vroom Vroom will handle the monitoring and measurement, then purchase offset credits to match the total amount of carbon dioxide produced, balancing the negative impact on the environment. Web sites will get a Greenlogo.com seal to put on their page that demonstrates they’ve helped the environment and encourages others to do the same.

Offset credits will go towards environmentally friendly programs such as clean energy. To ensure that the money is spent on legitimate, high quality projects with proven results, Vroom Vroom Vroom will purchase credits from The CarbonNeutral Company, a world-leading carbon offset and management business, which was selected because of its vast experience and reputation for integrity. The CarbonNeutral Company uses a rigorous process for reviewing and selecting projects; guarantees every carbon purchase; has all of its activities audited by a reputable third party; and maintains market-leading levels of transparency, including an online registry of its projects.

Sue Welland, Founder & Creative Director, The CarbonNeutral Company said “A major factor in tackling climate change is making individuals and businesses aware that they can reduce their carbon footprint and providing access for them to do so. Companies such as Vroom Vroom Vroom are helping to lead the way in educating not only their customers but a wider base of consumers and businesses, all of which produce unavoidable carbon emissions.”

Vroom Vroom Vroom hopes that their carbon offsetting programs will inspire car rental customers “one Web site and one car rental at a time.” Several sites have already been signed on for the GreenLogo program, and groups have been set up on Facebook and MySpace to allow members to offset their individual profiles. This year alone, projected contributions from VroomVroomVroom.com car rentals and Greenlogo.com should surpass $40,000.

# # #

About Vroom Vroom Vroom

Vroom Vroom Vroom (www.vroomvroomvroom.com) believes drivers deserve a car rental booking service that thinks and acts like a customer. The site offers consumers a fast and easy booking process for renting a car in more than 2,000 locations nationwide, with a lowest price guarantee. And adding a breath of fresh air to the car rental process, Vroom Vroom Vroom prides itself as a company with a conscience, offsetting carbon emissions for every car rented through the site, at no cost to the customer. An Australian-born company launched ‘down under’ in 2002, Vroom Vroom Vroom maintains services and operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K.

Check us out:

Web site: www.VroomVroomVroom.com

www.GreenLogo.com

Blog: http://vroomblog.blogspot.com/

Facebook: GreenLogo Pollution Reducer

MySpace: GreenLogo Pollution Reducer

Twitter: @CarRental

About The CarbonNeutral Company

The CarbonNeutral Company (www.carbonneutral.com) is the world’s leading carbon offset and management business, working with over 300 major businesses and 60,000+ consumer clients. Over the last ten years, they have purchased carbon credits from almost 200 projects spread over six continents. The CarbonNeutral Company is a founding member of The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), which provides leadership and a unified voice advocating for rigorous industry standards www.icroa.org.

CarbonNeutral® is the registered trademark of The CarbonNeutral Company and is the leading brand mark and quality standard for action on climate change. Permission to display the CarbonNeutral mark is only given to clients when CO₂ emissions have been measured and reduced to net zero through a program implemented in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. This Protocol assures quality of offset projects, carbon footprint assessments and communication and is regularly reviewed by an Independent Advisory Group. The ‘audit trail’ includes an annual independent verification of CarbonNeutral programs – from contracts with carbon offset partners through to contracts with clients and everything in between.

For the first time, the US Navy is using a new breed of sailing ship to deliver military equipment, a move that can potentially reduce fuel costs by 20 percent to 30 percent, or roughly $1,600 a day per ship, according to the ship’s owners.

The Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) has chartered the “kite-assisted”, fuel-saving 400-foot MV Beluga to deliver Air Force and Army cargo to from Europe to the US.

The MV Beluga uses a paraglider-shaped, SkySails-System, which supplements its conventional, internal combustion engines. The sail is basically a huge, computer-controlled kite that soars 100 to 300 yards into the air, using the wind to tow the ship at the end of a long tear-proof, synthetic rope.

The SkySails System is operated by the crew from a workstation on the bridge. All the steering and flight path adjustments are done automatically. “Emergency actions” are taken care of with a “push of a button.” But the SkySail is only deployed offshore, outside the three-mile zone and traffic separation areas–just in case.

Unlike conventional sails, the kite has no superstructures that can get in the way of loading and unloading dockside, or scrape the bottom side of bridges as it sails under. The kite folds up, and can be stowed in an area the size of a telephone booth, according to developer SkySails of Hamburg, Germany. And, the SkySail can “generate two to three times more power per square meter sail area than conventional sails,” according to the company. The environmental benefits have yet to calculated.

Though wind power was not a factor in awarding the contract, the shipping company was likely “able to capitalize on fuel savings to make its offer more competitive,” according to MSC. “MSC values innovation that leads to cost savings,” said Captain Nick Holman, of Sealift Logistics Command Europe.

Calculating a gallon of gasoline into pounds of C02 is often quite confusing. Luckily smoo did some number crunching in simple terms to explain it.

I get a lot of questions like this: “Can burning 1 gallon of gasoline really release almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2)? That does not make sense. Does the carbon dioxide really weigh 20 pounds? Can you weigh it? How can this be true?”

First of all, yes, this is true.

My genius PhD chemist friend Maria promised to share with me the calculations that demonstrate how this works. I am going to share these with you and then explain them in simple English so your head does not explode (unless you are an AP Chemistry student in high school and then you might want to calculate the numbers yourself JUST FOR FUN). From Maria (note that a “Mole”, abbreviated as mol, is a unit of molecular measurement):

Here is a calculation that I did for gasoline…

Answer:

Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated that 1 gal (3.78 L) of gasoline (density = 0.70 g/mL and approximate composition C8H18) gives 8 kg (18 lbs) of CO2.

Combustion of gasoline
C8H18 + (25/2) O2 -> 8CO2 + 9H2O

3.78 L(1000 mL/L)(0.70g/ mL) = 2646 g gasoline
2646 g gasoline(8 mol CO2/ 1 mol gasoline)(1 mol/114 g gasoline) = 185.68 mol CO2
185.68 mol CO2 (44 g/mol CO2) =8,170 g or 8 kg
8,170 g * 0.0022 lb/g = 17.7 lb or 18 lb

The full article is available here

The air is fresh, the water clean and the greenlogo launch team are hard at work to ensure www.greenlogo.com is full steam ahead at launch.

Check in soon to see the results of the Greenlogo launch.