Posts by: erin

Carbon surcharges arrive on US flights

It's finally here. The first overt economic deterrent aimed at US consumers for their emissions of greenhouse gases has arrived on our shores. Figuratively, at least. This past week, most major US airlines levied a $3 ticket surcharge on all flights to and from European Union (EU) nations after a European court determined that the “EU Aviation Directive” can and… read more →

Transit. It’s taxing.

One of the less heralded benefits of the 2009 Recovery Act is a change in pre-tax commuter benefits. As with pre-tax health care and child care plans, commuter benefits allow you to set aside some of your paycheck before it’s taxed, and use that money to pay commute expenses - transit passes and parking. Employers also benefit from commuter benefits… read more →

A tale of two cars

Truism: Cars are expensive. Expensive to buy, expensive to fuel, expensive to maintain. Since we all know this, (hence it being a truism), some data I recently came across caught me by surprise. And made we wonder whether I have been misjudging the actual cost of my driving choices. Here’s the scoop, and I begin with a confession. I own… read more →

News announcement from TerraPass

  • October 18, 2011
  • News
  • Comments Disabled
Just in time for the creation of California’s regulatory cap-and-trade market, TerraPass and Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced a partnership last week which marks an important milestone for TerraPass. Under our partnership, TerraPass will source and deliver verified farm-based carbon offsets over the next 9 years which Bank of America Merrill Lynch has the option to purchase. Unlike offset… read more →

Finally, a breath of fresh air for California cap-and-trade

If all goes according to plan, something rather amazing will happen this Thursday. The California Air Resources Board is set to consider, and probably adopt in final form, a market-based greenhouse gas emission control regulation. I wish this weren’t such an accomplishment. I wish I were not amazed. After all, market-based environmental controls have been in place in California since… read more →

Driving America in the right direction

I’ve commented before about a dilemma produced by fuel-efficient cars: they emit less per mile, but also make it less expensive to drive... creating a countervailing incentive to drive more than you might have in a gas guzzler. Therefore I was happy to discover that the University of Michigan has been tracking and amalgamating the greenhouse gas emissions effects of… read more →

High. Low. It’s all good.

A newly published study (pdf) from the University of New South Wales and the University of California at Merced concludes that when compared to a carbon tax, a relatively unrestrained cap-and-trade system is economically advantageous. My first thought was that this is no news at all. The economic advantage of cap and trade - enabling capital to flow to the… read more →

Behavior modification. It’s a tricky thing.

If you’re sufficiently geeky, the monthly free seminar/webinar series sponsored by the California Air Resources Board covers some fascinating environmental ground. One recent seminar provided an economist’s view of American automobile fuel economy standards, with particular insight into the effects of these standards on driving behavior. I’m drawing a lot from that one here, and give due credit to Soren… read more →

Fascinating reading

As a San Francisco-based company, the TerraPass team has more than the usual variety of ties to Stanford University. Through one such connection, we were made aware of an interesting project and resource, cleverly entitled Sound Advice for a Green Earth, or SAGE. For this project, Stanford students taking the upper division/graduate course “Sustaining Action: Research, Analysis and Writing for… read more →

When gas wins over electric

Last weekend, I bought a new dryer. The old one was kaput, and though I wish it were otherwise, a clothesline doesn’t suffice for my family’s lifestyle. I started my quest with some virtual shopping. First dilemma: electric or gas? Over the years I’ve always assumed “gas” because generating electricity by burning fuel and then making heat with the electricity… read more →
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