TCRP site evaluates global warming impacts

The Transit Cooperative Research Program launched a new Website that allows travelers to evaluate the impact of their travel decisions on global warming. The Website -- www.travelmatters.org -- features an interactive emissions calculator that shows how an individual's travel patterns translate to greenhouse gas emissions. Users enter the monthly distances traveled by mode of transportation -- on foot, by bicycle, car, bus, train, plane or boat -- and the calculator automatically provides a personalized greenhouse gas accounting. The calculator converts the greenhouse gas emissions to solid carbon, depicting it in the form of 20-pound bags of charcoal briquettes displayed next to the results. The bags reflect the equivalent volume of carbon that the user's travel activity introduces into the atmosphere every month. The calculator also shows how many mature trees it would take to remove the carbon emissions from the atmosphere over the course of a year. The site offers informative content for those who may want to learn more about the science behind climate change; the evolving local, national and international policy response; or promising alternative fuels and technologies that might help reduce future emissions.