Patent ID: 8271363

Claim:
A computer system for allocating at least one environmental cost associated with the use of a mineral natural resource comprising: a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing data representing account information for producers of mineral natural resources and data received by or created by program code; first program code that receives input of at least one characteristic of the mineral natural resource produced by a producer with an account, and assesses a charge that is a function of at least one characteristic of the mineral; second program code that records receipt of a sum equal to the assessed charge in an account associated with the producer of the mineral natural resource; third program code that receives input regarding the producer's processing or use of the mineral natural resource, for which the assessed charge has been stored in the producer's account, and downstream processing or uses of the mineral natural resource by others and tracks any downstream processing and the use of the mineral natural resource; and fourth program code that calculates an amount of the previously assessed charge that should be distributed back to the producer or to another downstream user or processor of the mineral natural resource, or to an unrelated third party based on other conservation activities.