FAQs
General Information
What is your site all about?
We provide a place for people to come and learn about the easy and not-as-easy ways to reduce their personal carbon emissions. Our use of electricity produced from coal, oil or natural gas to heat our homes, and gas to run our vehicles produces carbon dioxide that causes global warming. We aim to provide you an easy way of tracking the difference you make in the fight against global warming.
I’m not sure if global warming is something I need to do anything about.
Well, we’d like an opportunity to show you how important the fight against global warming is. But there are other important reasons to reduce your carbon emissions. Our dependence on foreign oil distorts our foreign policy and forces us to put our armed forces in harms way. Our resistance to the inevitable switch to clean energy sources puts our economies at risk of decline. History shows that the innovator, the leader of economic changes are always better off than those who hope things don’t change. So reduce your use of oil to support energy independence and our armed forces. Reduce your use of electricity produced from coal in order to speed the conversion to electricity produced from renewable sources.
I’m a believer in free enterprise and less government regulation. Why should I get involved in this endeavor?
You probably also believe in personal responsibility, for people not waiting around for someone else to solve their problems or waiting for the government to solve problems. EnergyRace provides a roadmap for how you can do that, without needing any government involvement. By reducing your demand for dirty energy and increasing your demand for clean energy, you will be aligning your beliefs with your economic choices.
I like my SUV and my central air conditioning; I don’t think I’m ever going to give them up.
Better to take a modest first step rather than not taking a first step that isn’t big enough. Do what you can. You may find it gratifying to see the results.
Isn't your web site generating carbon emissions through the electricity needed to run it?
Yes it is. So we will purchase or create carbon offsets to offset the carbon emissions from the coal-generated electricity our web site uses. More info coming on this as we get further into our first several months of operation.
How does the Impact Tree work?
Everyone who signs up gets an Impact Tree. You tell us which carbon emission reduction steps you have taken and we update your Impact Tree to show your progress. The Impact Tree also keeps track of how many of your friends, your friends friends, your friends friends friends etc. that sign up so that you can see a complete picture of the impact you are having.
How does EnergyRace calculate my carbon emissions (or carbon footprint)?
Click here to ready about the methodology.
