The fast-moving pace of technology is good news for gadget lovers, but not such good news for the environment. As we acquire more and more electronic products, an explosion in e-waste (electronic scrap) containing toxic chemicals that cannot be disposed of safely is a growing concern. To make environmental matters worse, devices are burning up more energy than they need to through being left on while not in use.
Green computing the easy way
The blame lies with both PC users and manufacturers. Last year saw campaign group Greenpeace take on Apple, slamming its lack of environmental policies and non-existent plan to reduce its eco-impact. Apple CEO Steve Jobs rectified this in May, when he posted environmental targets online.
Other PC makers have been making a lot of noise about their energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprints and cutting non-renewable or toxic components. PC World's carbon-neutral PC has been picking up a lot of press attention, while Intel has been working on energy-efficient Santa Rosa and Centrino processors and rolling them out into various laptops.
Laptops that have flash memory rather than hard disks are another green choice. With no platter to spin, far less energy is required to write data to memory. They're a pricey option at the moment - Sony's Vaio TZ18GN costs $700 (about £350) more than its hard disk version, and has a 32GB capacity rather than 100GB - but we expect to see prices drop as more are launched.
More than a coincidence
This year, the long-promised European WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive came into full force, requiring IT firms to take responsibility when goods they've made reach retirement age. Dell and others have been heavily publicising their take-back schemes. This is something each company is legally obliged to do, yet some are more open than others to taking away all your unwanted kit rather than only items you bought from them.
There are legal requirements for consumers too. If we choose not to give back outdated equipment, we must dispose of it responsibly at a recognised recycling centre or in another approved manner.
But simply giving back outdated kit to the place from whence it came is not a complete answer for those of us keen to be a little greener in our technological dealings. Choosing wisely in the first place can be just as important.
To help you make more informed decisions, read on. We've put together a 10-step guide to greener computing and if you follow all of them, you'll already be half way to eco-friendly bliss…
Comments
CHARLIE MCERLEAN said: Good Stuff Surprised the double siding only appears at Number 7 because it works and is easy to implement - even for an illerate such as myself who uses perhaps one per cent of the machines capabilities but now can cut out 50 of two pagers
. said: Johnzy - and how would you know we cant change it Thats just spin put out by people who cant be bothered couldnt care less about doing something about it
Thomas said: Well said Dan
p hawkins said: i understood from previous information that lcd or plasma screens used twice times the power of crt vdus what is the truth of this matter puzzled pete
Dan said: RonIts 2W for as long as you leave it on I would guess as Watts dont indicate time - its a measurement of the energy being used as opposed to a Watt Hour or kiloWatt Hour - kWh as most people are used to seeing If you left said charger on for 500 hours 41 days then thats 1 kWh wasted In a year thats about 9 kWh you have wasted - or the same as a 1 bar electric fire for 9 hours Whilst not a lot as an example theres 700 people living in my accomodation blockthats 6300 kWh a year if we all leave just one charger on each this is one student accomodation site aloneIf everyone turns off their chargers and turn off instead of standby TVs VCRs etc then thats a hell of a lot of energy saved
Johnzy said: Im sick and tired of hearing about global warming it is a natural occurence and nothing that you or I do will change it Politicians have jumped on the green bandwagon to screw more of our money out of us and are using it as an excuse to get more control over our lives As for computers going green wll I suppose I could paint mine its a more restful colour than beige
Ron Graves said: When you leave the adaptor plugged in youre losing an average of 2W - it says here Sadly though thats a meaningless figure - is it 2W per hour day week - what
azrak1 said: good