Clinton campaign goes 'carbon neutral'

updated 3:31 p.m. ET April 20, 2007

NEW YORK - To observe Earth Day on Sunday, Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign said it would become "carbon neutral" to help fight global warming.

"We all must act — and that includes our campaign," the Democratic front-runner said in a statement Friday.

The campaign said it would take several steps to conserve energy, such as buying 100 percent recycled paper products, installing motion-controlled lights and purchasing carbon offsets through Native Energy, a Vermont-based company that produces renewable energy.

Billy Connelly, a spokesman for Native Energy, said the campaign was providing information on its energy use — the square footage of its office, aircraft and ground transportation, hotel accommodations and other sources — and the company calculates the campaign's total "carbon footprint."

The campaign will then purchase offsets — renewable energy such as methane and wind that could be placed immediately on the energy grid — to neutralize the carbon emissions the campaign is producing.

Like other presidential contenders, Clinton campaigns extensively in private planes — a much less energy-efficient mode of travel than flying on a commercial carrier.

Democrat John Edwards has also announced his campaign would go carbon neutral, and that he was purchasing carbon offsets for his new 28,000-square foot house in Chapel Hill, N.C.

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