Earth Day Initiative Puts Consumers on a 'LOW CARBON' Diet for 30 Days in April

AUSTIN, Texas, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation's leading provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset products, today announced its partnership with Whole Foods Market's national Earth Month carbon reduction initiative, The Whole Earth Weigh-In(TM): 30 Ways in 30 Days.

Green Mountain has designed a way for Whole Foods Market shoppers to easily track and calculate their "carbon footprint" through a customized version of their web based carbon calculator and BeGreen(TM) carbon offset product. This initiative is part of a month-long program beginning April 1, 2007, and is available at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/earthday.

The BeGreen Weigh-In calculator allows shoppers to total the carbon emissions resulting from daily activities associated with electricity and natural gas usage, driving and air travel. Additionally, there are "Eco-Action" tips incorporated by Green Mountain that enable people to immediately shed pounds off their carbon weight. Program participants can also offset all or a portion of their carbon footprint by purchasing BeGreen Carbon Offsets. BeGreen Carbon Offsets are derived from cleaner energy projects across the country -- including solar and wind power -- as well as forest sequestration and energy efficiency projects.

The Whole Earth Weigh-In is an integrated carbon weight-loss plan incorporating a special guidebook for consumers available in all Whole Foods Market(TM) stores and an interactive online tool. The program educates about the negative impact that carbon dioxide (CO2) has on the environment and offers straightforward tips and tools that everyone can use to reduce their CO2 emissions.

"As the Planet weighs in and the threat of global warming gets heavier, we were delighted to assist Whole Foods Market in educating shoppers about the many simple but effective ways they can lighten their personal carbon footprint," says Gillan Taddune, chief environmental officer, Green Mountain Energy Company. "Working together, we can all initiate small steps that can ultimately make a big difference in helping to address the negative impacts of climate change."

"When we came up with concept for the "Whole Earth Weigh-In" initiative, we wanted to ensure we teamed up with the partner to not only provide the carbon calculator component to the program, but one who was in sync with our own philosophy for green consumer education and that's Green Mountain Energy Company," said Laurie Rocke, Whole Foods Market project team leader, national marketing.

Green Mountain's carbon-reducing Eco-Action Tips, in tandem with the Weigh-In program, explain just how much CO2 is generated through everyday activities and demonstrate how subtle changes allow for significant reductions. The tips include:

1) Choose renewable energy (Electricity)

By purchasing a 100% new renewable energy product for a year, an American household using an average of 938 kWh per month could help avoid contributing over 15,600 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

2) Plant a Tree, Seriously

A single tree can absorb one ton (2,000 pounds) of CO2 over its lifetime. One acre of tree cover in Brooklyn can compensate for automobile fuel use equivalent to driving a car more than 7,200 miles.

3) Drive Smart

Try walking, riding a bike or carpooling to reduce the miles that you drive. If you stopped driving just 20 extra miles per week for one year, you could save about 900 pounds of CO2 per year.

4) Reduce Hot Water Use and Burn Less Natural Gas

Wash your clothes in cold or warm water to save up to 500 pounds of CO2 per year. Rinse your dishes with coldwater (they don't need two hot baths) and wait to run the dishwasher until it is full.

5) Recycle More

You can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

6) Change a Light

Twenty percent of the electricity consumed in the United States is for lighting. Replacing one regular bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb can save 150 pounds of CO2 a year.

7) Adjust Your Thermostat

Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in the winter and up 2 degrees in the summer could save 2,000 pounds of CO2.

"Green Mountain Energy Company and Whole Foods Market are a 'dream team' of two of Austin's best and brightest companies. By working together on The Whole Earth Weigh-In program, they have made it even easier and more fun for people to do the right thing for the environment," says Robin Rather, co-founder of Austin LiveableCity and member of Green Mountain's environmental advisory board.

Visit http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/earthday for the BeGreen carbon calculator and to learn more about taking positive action against global warming and climate change, and pick up the WHOLE EARTH WEIGH-IN Program Guide at Whole Foods Market stores throughout the month of April.

About BeGreenNow.com

BeGreen(SM) Carbon Offsets, the latest solution-based product from Green Mountain Energy Company, provides education on the serious effects of CO2 emissions and climate change, while introducing simple and effective ways to take steps towards becoming carbon neutral. Supported by a community of forward thinking individuals, http://www.begreennow.com/ encourages ways to cool down global warming.

About Green Mountain Energy Company

Green Mountain Energy Company (http://www.greenmountain.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset products. Green Mountain began in 1997 with a simple idea: "to change the way power is made." The company began in the renewable electricity market with the belief that if given a choice, consumers will choose a cleaner electricity product over polluting fossil fuels. Green Mountain and its customers have helped spur the development of 13 new wind and solar facilities across the nation.

Green Mountain is committed to responsible business practices and has adopted the CERES principles of sustainable business practices -- publicly affirming a pledge to conduct business as a responsible steward of the earth. In 2005, Green Mountain offset a full 100 percent of its corporate CO2 emissions through the EPA Climate Leaders Program, and has achieved the Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for the interior space of its corporate headquarters located in downtown Austin, TX. Green Mountain Energy(R) and the Green Mountain Energy logo are registered service marks, and BeGreen, BeGreenNow and the BeGreen logo are service marks of Green Mountain Energy Company.

About Whole Foods Market(R)

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/) is the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America's first national certified organic grocer. In fiscal year 2006, the company had sales of $5.6 billion and currently has 195 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Whole Foods Market motto, "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet"(TM) captures the company's mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Whole Foods Market employs more than 42,000 Team Members and has been ranked for ten consecutive years as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by FORTUNE magazine.

Source: Green Mountain Energy Company

CONTACT: Meghan Murphy, ,
, for Green Mountain Energy Company

Web site: http://www.greenmountain.com/
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/earthday
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
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