Patent ID: 7580808

Claim:
An onboard system for monitoring an emissions footprint of a vehicle, the system comprising: at least one onboard data source configured to generate vehicle data associated with operation of the vehicle; an onboard carbon calculator module coupled to the at least one data source, the carbon calculator module being configured to compute an emissions value from the vehicle data, the emissions value indicating a total amount of a carbon-containing substance released from the vehicle during a measurement period; an onboard display element coupled to the carbon calculator module, the display element being configured to generate a display of the emissions value, and configured to generate a user interface control element for activating a user-initiated request to purchase emission reduction credits to offset at least a portion of the emissions value; and an onboard data communication module coupled to the user interface control element, the data communication module being configured to transmit, in response to the user-initiated request, a purchase command to a remote command center for processing of a purchase transaction for the emission reduction credits.