Conservative estimates rank computer usage right up there with the airline industry for its harmful effect on the atmosphere, making it responsible for up to 2% of the total problem. To put your mind at ease, that doesn’t mean your household PC is all that nasty. That figure includes all the industrial server farms, government supercomputers, and college networks. Unfortunately, there are a lot more of them than you might think. Even your average grocery store has a server room somewhere in it to run the “back office” (accounts receivable and inventory control) and “front office” (cash registers and checkout system) components of its operation.

So how much damage does your average PC do? Running one 8 hours per day, five days a week, fifty weeks a year will use 400 kilowatt hours or 180,800 grams of carbon dioxide (452 grams – just shy of a pound – per hour X 2,000 hours). That sounds like a lot but when you consider that a home PC accounts for less than ten percent of the average home’s energy bill (according to MR. Electricty AKA Michael Bluejay of Michaelbluejay.com) it’s not that big of a number in the overall picture. Your water heater, furnace, and refrigerator are much bigger carbon offenders.

But as my mother always used to say “every little bit helps.” So here are some ways to go greener and keep your high-speed digital lifestyle to which you’ve become accustomed.

1.  Use the power management tools your PC manufacturer gave you!
   All modern PCs come with the ability to regulate their own power use. You can easily set your computer to enter a reduced consumption mode (sometimes called sleep or hibernation) and even power itself down completely if it remains idle for a certain length of time.
2. Unplug your machine.
   Even when it’s off, your PC uses about a Watt per hour. This is what’s known as phantom draw. The only way to cancel this out is to unplug the machine entirely.
3. Plan your day with the planet in mind.
   When you think about it, there’s really no reason to leave your PC on all the time while you’re in the other room, outside, or otherwise engaged. Also, consider doing everything you need to do once as starting up and shutting down your PC repeatedly consumes more energy than just letting it idle.
4. Avoid the next best thing.
   PCs seem to age quicker than Dorian Gray. If you buy one that’s top of the line in December and it’s outdated by July. However, resist the temptation to buy a whole new system. Manufacturing a PC is an extremely carbon intensive task. Not only that, PCs contain all sorts of toxic waste, heavy metals, and other harmful materials that we don’t need more of in landfills. When you need to upgrade, consider upgrading piecemeal, it will save you money and the environment a headache.
5. Shop smartly!
   A large number of PC manufacturers have begun to build earth friendly (or at least friendlier) computers in response to the consumer desire for products that are better for our planet. One of the first was Dell. Believe it or not, they have a whole line of Eco-Friendly computer Accessories, some of which are made with up to 70% recycled materials, contain fewer heavy metals and some, like this PC, whose cases are made out of sustainable bamboo!

Lastly, when it comes time to get rid of your old computer, think green. Does your computer still work? Could a local non-profit or school organization use your computer (or parts from your computer)? Do you have a charity-based resale shop in your area such as a Goodwill Industries retail store? Do you have anyone in your family (a young child or an older adult just learning the ropes of the computing world) that could use your old PC? Why not give your PC a second life?

One important note: when giving/selling any PC it’s best to thoroughly destroy all personal data on that computer. “Deleting” it isn’t enough. There are free software programs available that will completely overwrite any data on your hard drive, rendering your machine a blank slate, and safeguarding any potentially harmful information you wouldn’t want anyone to have. See Killdisk.com for one such example.

When your PC is broken and finally “useless” don’t just throw it away. Ecycle your old machine. Many manufacturers offer free recycling services for machines purchased through them. Your local recycling center may also have electronics recycling services available. Recently, Staples has announced that it will recycle unwanted electronics (though not TVs) for free at any of their retail outlets across the country. See Gcycle.org for more recycling options for all of your technological gadgetry!

Be smart about your used electronics, they’re not just trash.

Related articles

• Managing E-Waste: Battery and Computer Recycling (everydayhealth.com)
• Computing Your Karma: Recycling Your PC (chicagoist.com)
• Take It To The Computer Recycling Center (thinkoutsidethebin.com)

I’ve got CFL’s all over my house, including outside.  When I flip a switch to look outside, it’s as if the lights weren’t even on.  Not anymore.  That’s one point for CFL’s, climate skeptics: 0.

The bulb is in the shape of a “regular” incandescent bulb, which may also convert some of the weirdo holdouts.  Inside that outer shell is the familiar CFL coil, and inside that is a small halogen unit, capable of emitting instant, bright light.  As the CFL portion of the bulb warms up and shows it’s full light, the halogen turns off to save power.

Unnecessary innovation?  Perhaps.  But if it converts a few lazy, apathetic people, it’s worth it.  The bulbs are supposed to last around 8,000 hours.  That’s 1,000 times more than an old incandescent bulb and about the same as a standard incandescent.

There’s one more benefit to these bulbs, the contain less mercury than a standard CFL.  About half as much.  This is another hangup for some slow-to-convert folks, that they don’t want to bother disposing of CFL’s properly because they contain mercury.  As I see it, there is no “disposal”.  As a popular bumper sticker reads: “Throw it away? There is no ‘away’.”  This means you are producing waste regardless of the type of bulb you’re using.  Even so, for every CFL you throw away, you could be throwing away 1,000 incandescent bulbs.  You do the math and figure out which is worse.

Hybrid bulbs will come in 60 and 75 watt capacities and sell for around $6.  Not a bad deal considering that equates to around $500 in incandescent bulbs.

At Hippie Magazine, we like to report on the coolest green innovations, not just green news.  Have you ever received a package in the mail or brought home something from the store and been shocked to find a a box full of styrofoam?  It’s not easy to dispose of and can take up an entire garbage bag.  Not to mention, you know it is just going to sit in a landfill for decades if not centuries.

Very few companies opt to offer biodegradable packing material such as that made from cornstarch (they decompose in water) or recycled crinkle paper.  So we’re left with horrible chemicals that last forever.  A completely unnecessary evil.

Someone has come up with an excellent alternative to styrofoam that promises to be inexpensive.  If production costs drop below the closest (environmentally harmful) alternative, that’s how change happens.

The magic formula is clay, water, casein powder (a protein powder), and a trace amount of a glycerol compound.  Throw it all in a blender and voila!  What you have is an environmentally friendly packing material made from raw materials accessible in all parts of the country.

Here’s a bonus: unless you’re shipping to the sun, the packaging will hold up as well.  It remains intact up until 392 degrees Fahrenheit.

The material starts in liquid form and then gets molded into any shape.  This means it can be used in tons of different applications from aerospace to transportation to electronics.  The discovery has spawned a new company called Aeroclay, Inc.  Buy your stock now folks!

Source

Dear EarthTalk: I work for an office equipment company selling copiers, fax machines, computers and printers. Each year new models come out making old ones obsolete. As a result, we have loads of trade-ins with nowhere to go. What can we do with this old equipment? – Jeff P., Worcester, MA

Electronic waste, or “e-waste” as it’s called, is a growing problem in the United States and abroad, as obsolete or broken computers and other electronic equipment are taking up increasingly precious amounts of landfill space and potentially leaking hazardous substances into surrounding ecosystems.

The nonprofit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition reports that 70 percent of the heavy metals in U.S. landfills are from discarded electronics—even though the e-waste itself accounts for only two percent of the trash by volume. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that Americans trash two million tons of unwanted electronics each year—six times the amount they recycle. To make matters worse, U.S. companies often ship old equipment to poor nations whose landfills and incinerators are ill equipped, subjecting already struggling populations to lead, cadmium, beryllium, and other contaminants.

So what can be done? If your old units still work but have merely been eclipsed by newer models, then by all means donate them to a needy cause that will either put them to good use or resell them to help fund their programs. You’ll earn a tax deduction for a charitable donation and, by keeping the equipment alive, prevent the manufacture of new units and thus, if ever so slightly, reduce the footprint of your operations.

But not every charity accepts old equipment, and no one wants to spend all day calling around to find one that does. A good place to look, then, is Goodwill, which will accept your equipment and then sell it through any one of its 1,500 retail stores across the country. Proceeds fund programs to help the disabled, illiterate, homeless, and those on welfare by providing job training and placement programs. The Salvation Army runs similar programs and also typically accepts donated old office equipment.
Another option is to donate your equipment to needy schools, either directly or via a service like iLoveSchools.com, which helps teachers find free supplies and equipment for their classrooms. The National Cristina Foundation also matches donated technology with needy schools and nonprofits. Also, the website GreatNonprofits.org maintains a list of charities in need of various types of office equipment. You can also offload equipment via Freecycle, a free service that helps find homes for unwanted stuff.

While finding a new home for your old gear is preferable, recycling is also an option. Recyclers harvest parts from old equipment that can be reused or resold. Several websites, including My Green Electronics, E-cycling Central, and Earth911, list electronics recyclers across the U.S. Some of these vendors will charge a small fee to recycle an item for you; others may do it for free. Also, Office Depot, Staples and some other stores will take back used electronics—even if not purchased there—usually for a small fee.

Contacts:
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Goodwill
Salvation Army
iLoveSchools.com
National Cristina Foundation
GreatNonprofits.org
Freecycle
E-cycling Central
Earth911
Office Depot
Staples

Image credit: George Hotelling, courtesy Flickr

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