US, Nov. 9 -- Once, in a busy Indian city, a family purchased a new automobile. They enjoyed the convenience of the vehicle, appreciated how it looked, and compared the mileage of their vehicle to those owned by other people living nearby. The salesman talked about how much fuel was saved using the vehicle's technology, the most recent advances in automotive technology, and the vehicle's incredible capabilities. However, no one asked a simple question: What amount of carbon dioxide will the vehicle produce over its lifetime?

The above question goes further than the showroom; it takes us to the world of carbon accounting, where each liter of fuel, each unit of electrical energy, and each industrial procedure provides a narrative of what ...