Murphy International Celebrates Earth Day 2011

Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green®
April 22nd is Earth Day. This year, Earth Day's theme is themed after A Billion Acts of Green: our people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20. See www.earthdaytv.net/ To celebrate Earth Day 2011, Murphy International is committed to our sense of environmental sustainability by continuing our passionate commitment of being "climate neutral".   We have and continue to act on our environmental citizenship and purchased verified carbon dioxide equivalent emission reduction credits Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s) emission offsets from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF). [Click to view CERTIFICATIONS]. BEF’s mission is to support the development of renewable energy and watershed restoration while empowering people to shrink their carbon footprint.

About Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Founded in Portland, Oregon in 1998, BEF is a national, nonprofit organization. One of our proudest achievements to date has been our role in the development of the carbon offset market. In 2000, we helped to create the voluntary market for carbon offsets by closing the first retail REC trade deal with the Environmental Protection Agency. We also launched the first online carbon calculator in 2001. In 2008, our retail Green Tags were renamed BEF Carbon Offsets to meet the naming conventions of the Green-e® Climate program. All of our Carbon Offset products are Green-e® Climate certified, the highest certification possible. With BEF Carbon Offsets, organizations and individuals are able to dedicate funds to the development of renewable energy sources like solar power and wind farms. And this in turn, helps us reduce the carbon footprints we leave behind..  We encourage you to consider doing the same... take action!

For Earth Day Consider - Green Electricity or RECs

How to get green power from your electric provider
Say you decide on greener power for your home or office. First step: examine your local electricity provider’s power mix. Even if they generate mostly dirty energy from nuclear or coal-fired power plants, they may offer some green alternatives or add-ons. The following are usually offered to electricity consumers:

  • Choose a green pricing option: If you're in a state with a regulated power structure, you’re given essentially only one choice for electricity: your local utility provider. The good news is that many state utilities offer green pricing options. This means that although you can’t be guaranteed to have only green power pumped directly to your outlets, you can pay a premium to your electricity provider to have your equivalent power usage pumped into the grid as renewable energy.
  • Choose a green marketing option: Green marketing options are available to those in states with a competitive electricity market. In such a system, power providers, including private power companies and your local utility, can jockey for your business. As a result, you have the choice to purchase electricity from your regular provider (that may or may not generate power sustainably) or from a company offering some percentage of green power. Some green energy companies even offer 100 percent renewable options!


Perhaps after all of your research you find that there are no electric providers offering renewable energy options in your area. If that’s the case, consider RECs. Nationwide, renewable energy companies (most often private enterprises), generate power via solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, or biomass, but it often costs more to produce than non-renewable energy.

To solve this financial challenge, green energy producers can offer RECs (known alternatively as renewable energy credits, green tags, and tradable renewable certificates (TRCs)). They generate power and then symbolically bundle it together, usually in quantities of 1,000 kilowatt-hours (a kWh equals 1 megawatt-hour or MWh). This bundle is given a uniquely generated number, known as a renewable energy certificate (to keep it from being double-counted), which can then be offered on the open market to those interested in supporting green energy.


The cost of each green tag is calculated based on the difference between the market rate for traditional fossil fuel energy and actual costs of clean energy production. So for instance, if the market price of conventional power is about $0.06 per kWh, and clean power costs $0.07 kWh to generate, the difference will be $0.01 per kWh, which is $1 per MWh. Assuming you use the US average of 11,000 kWh every year, in our imaginary scenario, you’ll pay $110 per year for your RECs. That’s less than $10 a month!


To get started on the REC track, follow these important tips:

  • Give preference to certified RECs: Not all RECs are created equal so look for certified RECs to ensure you’re getting truly clean, independently audited sources of energy. Many RECs are verified by Green-e, but some are also vetted by Environmental Resources Trust’s EcoPower program. The Neutral Network also provides verification of the methodologies used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions offsets.
Calculate your carbon footprint: Determine how much energy you’ll need to offset by first finding out how much you use. There are many carbon calculators out there: EcoNeutral, Carbon Friendly Solutions, and ZeroFootprint.


Keep in mind that purchasing green tags does not mean that green electrons get literally delivered to your home. You remain plugged into your not-so-green power supplier, making your regular electricity payments. The green news? The RECs you’ve purchased represent green power being pumped into the overall electricity mix, meaning the more you purchase, the more the balance of power generated nationwide swings in the direction of green. Purchasing RECs effectively allows you to subsidize green energy production—your payments go toward making new and existing renewable energy facilities more competitive. Much like carbon offsets for travel and other CO2-intensive activities, RECs give you green bragging rights—the benefits of this clean energy (fewer greenhouse gases, reduced particulate matter production, and lowered noxious gas emissions) legally belong to you. But perhaps more importantly, purchasing RECs acts as a powerful signal that demand for green energy is increasing.

Find it! Renewable energy

You’ll need to contact local utility companies to find out what your green electricity options are, but if you’re interested in RECs, here are a few companies:

3Degrees

Buy
3Degrees Renewable Energy Certificates
In addition to their carbon offset offering, 3Degrees is a leading national supplier of Green-e Certified RECs sourced from a variety of renewable energy technologies, including wind, biomass, geothermal, solar, low-impact hydro, landfill gas, and biogas. Use the footprint calculator to get started on your green energy path.

BeGreen

Buy
BeGreen Carbon Offset Express
You can choose either a small (6MWh/year), medium (12MWh/year), or large (24MWh/year) carbon offset package to get energy generated from wind and solar nationwide. Prices range from $72-$288 per year.

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Bonneville Environmental Foundation

Buy
Bonneville Environmental Foundation Green Tags
Purchase some green tags for yourself, or buy some as a gift for a friend! This countrywide service draws power from wind, solar, and low-impact hydro power systems (you can even choose which form of energy to support). This company is Green-e certified.

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Green Energy Choice

Buy
White Fence Green Energy Credits
Use the carbon calculator to estimate how many green credits to purchase in order to offset your power usage. Green Energy Choice provides RECs (the White Fence Green service) to virtually anyone across the US.

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NativeEnergy

Buy
NativeEnergy CoolWatts Credits
Purchase some green tags for yourself, or buy some as a gift. This nationwide service draws power from wind, solar, and low-impact hydro power systems (you can even choose which form of energy to support). NativeEnergy is Green-e certified.

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Renewable Choice Energy

Buy
Renewable Choice Energy RECs
With both family (9,000 kWh/year) and individual (3,000 kWh/year) Green-e certified plans to choose from, you’ll find something that fits your power needs. Monthly fees range from a low $5 to $15 and new subscribers can opt to receive gift cards for a variety of green products and services.

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Sterling Planet

  • Buy
    Sterling Planet Carbon Offsets
  • Sterling Planet offers renewable energy certificates in every state, and even provides a quick breakdown of current dirty energy sources in your area. The credits are sources from wind, hydro, geothermal, and bioenergy.
  • TerraPass

    Buy
    TerraPass Home Carbon Offsets
    Receive a Choose a CFL bulb and a recycled plastic bag dispenser with your carbon offsets. The company calculates your estimated yearly energy consumption and suggests a price based on that.

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    Getting green power from your electric provider helps you go green because…

    • It supports increased development of renewable energy sources.
    • It creates a more secure social future since it reduces our dependence on foreign sources of oil.
    • It provides an abundance of healthy green jobs.




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