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Protecting the Environment in the Infomation Age

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Most people are concerned about the environment and are willing to do what they can to reduce their global footprint, but many people are totally unaware of exactly how UN-environmentally friendly computers are.

Author: Caitlina Fuller

Protecting the environment in the information age is really important. Environmental protection should be our main concern because we only have one environment and it is not in the best condition right now so every effort should be made to reduce the negative impact of our actions on the environment. This includes actions like computer recycling and even turning your computer off at night to reduce energy usage. The following examples are just a couple of ways we can all protect our environment during the information age.

First of all, consider proper PC disposal. Tossing your old laptop of desktop into a landfill is doing nothing for the environment other than filling it up with non biodegradable waste. So, what other option do you have? Consider recycling your computer and do everything you can to minimize waste when it is time to throw it out. If everyone worldwide were to do this it would reduce billions of pounds of waste in the world’s landfills and that is very green.

Tips from Greenercomputing.com:

  • “Enable power management. Look for power management features on your desktop or notebook to minimize energy use. These features enable the computer to go into low-power mode when not in use, which can save a significant amount of energy.
  • Skip the screen saver. Active, moving screen savers don’t save any energy. Screen savers were initially designed to save the phosphorescent coating inside monochrome monitors — but this type of monitor is rarely used today.
  • Be a smart printer. You can also reduce the environmental effects of printing with your computer. Consider editing documents on your computer and using the clean side of used paper for printing drafts. You can also purchase environmentally friendly printers, toner cartridges and paper.”

“Skip the screen saver. Active, moving screen savers don’t save any energy. Screen savers were initially designed to save the phosphorescent coating inside monochrome monitors — but this type of monitor is rarely used today.”

Another way to be environmentally friendly when it comes to computing is to reduce your energy use. Too many of leave our computers on 24 hours per day and 7 days per week in hopes of increasing the life of our computer. However, what ends up happening is the life of the computer is not affected very much by turning it on and off and you save lots of money on power usage. So, turn your computer off every night or when you are not using it. At the very least put it in sleep mode so energy won’t be wasted and your power bill will go down! The settings that are recommended for your computer is for monitor sleep to be every 20 minutes and system sleep to be 30 minutes. If you want your computer to go to sleep on its own and save you time and hassle then make sure your computer is set to shut itself down. Also, make sure you shut your computer and computer equipment down over the weekend and at night if you don’t use it during these times.

These are just a couple suggestions to help you become more green in this information age and not only will you be doing what is good for the environment but you will also be doing something good for your wallet!

Lastly, if you are not unable or unwilling to purchase a refurbished computer, then consider a Dell. Dell has taken very proactive steps toward greening their line. According to Green-pc, “The new Dell green PC is a bamboo-coated computer filled with recycled materials (ex. recycled plastics such as: milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles). The Bamboo-computer uses 70% less energy than the average computer and is 81 percent smaller than the standard desktop. The size makes it easier, less costly and more eco-friendly to ship.” You can’t get much greener than that!

Additional Resources:
Greener Computing
Greenpc.blogspot.com
Ten Tips for Donating A Computer

About the author: Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer.

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/10007579@N00/356299634/

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