Terrapass Essays - Climatology, Atmospheric Sciences, TerraPass

Terrapass TERRAPASS In the world today we are faced with a dilemma. Is there really global warming. In fifty to seventy five years will there be a planet or will it be so hot that nothing will grow. Some companies want to help try to fight global warming by cutting back on emissions. In the following paragraphs we will discuss what TerraPass is, how TerraPass' customers care in the work place, Is TerraPass a fad, fashion or style, product diffusion, and the product cycle. In 2004, at Wharton business school, students began a business called TerraPass. TerraPass is a profit making business adventure to encourage people to invest in clean technologies and help reduce greenhouse emissions (Clow and Lascu 311). TerraPass uses the amount of carbon dioxide a person's vehicle puts out to figure a fee to pay for fighting pollution. ?Most of the effort to reduce greenhouse gases from cars has focused on improved fuel efficiency, low-carbon fuels, and alternative types like hybrids and plug-in vehicles? (Stern). They use certificates to represent carbon offsets to fight global warming. These are made public so anyone can see who has purchased these certificates. This does not replace good old conservation, it just adds to it. In a survey done in May of 2009, the customers of TerraPass show how they take steps to offset carbon dioxide in the work place. This survey show that 97% encourage recycling, 63% encourage double sided printing, 56% reduce heating and air conditioning, and 22% pay for public transportation for their employees(Seiger). According to a press release dated November 10, 2008, TerraPass has offset over 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of climate change (Blachford). In this revolutionary company they work with wind power, farm power, and landfills to reduce the effect of carbon dioxide on our planet. ?Most electricity comes from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. These conventional sources produce carbon dioxide emissions? (TerraPass project types). TerraPass fights this problem by supporting wind farms. Secondly with farm power, methane gas is destroyed from manure and other digested solids to control and manage animal waste emissions. Thirdly with l andfill gas capture, ?methane gas, which is 21 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, TerraPass captures and destroys the gas with great benefit to the climate? (TerraPass project types). ?TerraPass helps owners and operators define changes they can make to reduce their emissions and qualify their work for carbon crediting? (TerraPass Carbon Management Services). As for TerraPass being a fad, no it is not. It has been in business for over five years and it will become more popular because people are becoming more involved in caring for the environment. This could be a fashion because some business will use this as an advertisement to show how much they care for their planet. It most certainly will have to be a life style change for all of us to try our best to keep pollution down and help our environment. The product diffusion of TerraPass has been slow but picking up over the last few years. Companies such as Expedia, National Car, Enterprise, and Alamo are some of the few businesses who are using carbon credits and carbon offsets through TerraPass. There are five target consumer groups, called adopters that companies look for. The innovators are the first; they have the money available to take a risk on the beginning of a new venture. Expedia and Travelocity would be considered innovators because they got in at the beginning and had the finances to afford this. The second are the early adopters; these are consumers who lead their communities in getting out there and taking risks before the majority jumps in. Sergy Brin is one of these. He is a Google billionaire and has joined TerraPass to offset the carbon dioxide from his Boeing 767. Then you have the early majority which includes 34% of consumers who are more reserved in taking risks on new ventures. There is also another group o f 34% that are called the late majority. These are consumers who wait and see if the product will stay around and then they will do their purchasing. Finally we have the Laggers. These are the most