The U.S. Army is looking to go green — not khaki — environmentally green.

At Fort Carson, a new computerized system goes into operation this week to track carbon-dioxide emissions at the base south of Colorado Springs.

The gas — which can trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere and has been linked to global climate change — is created by burning fossil fuels.

The Internet-based system designed by Enviance Inc. will track everything on the base from boiler smokestacks to emissions from battle tanks.

“The goal here is for the Army to become more environmentally and energy efficient,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Tad Davis.

Where possible, the base will try to reduce emissions and cut energy consumption, Davis said.

This process is frequently referred to as reducing the “carbon footprint,” but in Fort Carson’s case, Davis is calling it the “carbon bootprint.”

“By tracking these emissions, we will be able to see if we can make reductions by changing policy or new technology,” Davis said.

Could there be hybrid battle tanks in the offing?

“While we are always looking for fuel-efficient technologies,” Davis said, “I don’t think we’ll be seeing hybrid tanks.”

Enviance, based in Carlsbad, Calif., developed its Web-based system to help companies track wastes and emissions to comply with state and federal environmental rules, said Lawrence Goldenhersh, the company’s chief executive.

Now the system is being expanded to cover greenhouse gases.

“This is the future,” Goldenhersh said. “As we face controls on greenhouse gases, the first thing we need to know is what we are emitting.”

American Electric Power Co., the nation’s biggest generator of electricity from coal, is using the Enviance system to track carbon-dioxide emissions at its 42 coal-fired power plants, Goldenhersh said.

The Enviance software also is being used in Denver’s “Driving Change” pilot program, which will monitor greenhouse-gas emissions from area drivers.

Davis said the Enviance system is one of several being tested at military installations, including Fort Benning in Georgia and the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama.

Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com