G
Guest
I'm talking about the fantastic article in I think PC Pro magazine, about
the amount of energy and pollution computers use and cause. I was really
shocked when I read that a modern PC outputs several tons of Co2 gas in a
5-year period! - how many PCs do you have in your home?!.
Then there's the wattage on machines sucking up energy (which when you think
about it, largely comes from Co2 emmitting energy producing activities), not
to mention all the formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene, etc floating
around in our office environments caused in part by our computing needs and
pursuits.
Obviously computers aren't going away and so I wanted to just bring this to
the attention of those of you who care enough to make small changes with a
view to cutting down the levels of pollution in our offices, wider
environment and therefore the future of our global environment.
Easy steps to take are get plants - and loads of them - plants like spider
plants and bamboo palms, English Ivy and dracaena are all relative easy to
look after and thrive on the chemicals in the atmosphere in our offices
(that familiar inkjet smell, or the electrical smells associated with all
electrical equipment, but in particular PCs can be cleaned up by plants who
actually absorb the chemicals and use them as food).
Opening your window is only going to refine the chemicals in the long run in
the wider atmosphere and make it bad for everyone else including you, so be
a little be proactive, its not that hard.
Other things you could do is obviously switch your PCs off when you aren't
using them - or if you want them left on when you aren't there, at least
switch the monitor off (its only one button for goodness sake).
Another easy and amazing thing to note is those really nice LCD screens you
all want are actually way more energy efficient than traditional monitors,
so for by all means get one - they reduce the emissions of Co2 and they
reduce energy consumption too, which means you will save loads on your
electricity bill and so it will pay for itself in a few years - so treat
yourself (but recycle the old monitor by selling it on or donating it).
Overclocking remember uses more power and really - is it worth it? (check
your electricity bill after a year's overclocked usage and then read those
stats and weep).
Please think wisely about what I've said here - we have come so far with
computing in the grand scheme of things, lets not mess up the planet because
of a few tweaks we could all be doing here and there which, as habits for
the rest of computing lives, could have a big positive impact not only on
our planet, but to safeguard ourselves and our children and grandchildren
etc (think of pensions - you might be saving up for one because you need to
think about tomorrow, do the same for the planet).
Please at least try a few small things and if you have any influence try and
encourage others to do so to. Thanks for reading this far!
the amount of energy and pollution computers use and cause. I was really
shocked when I read that a modern PC outputs several tons of Co2 gas in a
5-year period! - how many PCs do you have in your home?!.
Then there's the wattage on machines sucking up energy (which when you think
about it, largely comes from Co2 emmitting energy producing activities), not
to mention all the formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene, etc floating
around in our office environments caused in part by our computing needs and
pursuits.
Obviously computers aren't going away and so I wanted to just bring this to
the attention of those of you who care enough to make small changes with a
view to cutting down the levels of pollution in our offices, wider
environment and therefore the future of our global environment.
Easy steps to take are get plants - and loads of them - plants like spider
plants and bamboo palms, English Ivy and dracaena are all relative easy to
look after and thrive on the chemicals in the atmosphere in our offices
(that familiar inkjet smell, or the electrical smells associated with all
electrical equipment, but in particular PCs can be cleaned up by plants who
actually absorb the chemicals and use them as food).
Opening your window is only going to refine the chemicals in the long run in
the wider atmosphere and make it bad for everyone else including you, so be
a little be proactive, its not that hard.
Other things you could do is obviously switch your PCs off when you aren't
using them - or if you want them left on when you aren't there, at least
switch the monitor off (its only one button for goodness sake).
Another easy and amazing thing to note is those really nice LCD screens you
all want are actually way more energy efficient than traditional monitors,
so for by all means get one - they reduce the emissions of Co2 and they
reduce energy consumption too, which means you will save loads on your
electricity bill and so it will pay for itself in a few years - so treat
yourself (but recycle the old monitor by selling it on or donating it).
Overclocking remember uses more power and really - is it worth it? (check
your electricity bill after a year's overclocked usage and then read those
stats and weep).
Please think wisely about what I've said here - we have come so far with
computing in the grand scheme of things, lets not mess up the planet because
of a few tweaks we could all be doing here and there which, as habits for
the rest of computing lives, could have a big positive impact not only on
our planet, but to safeguard ourselves and our children and grandchildren
etc (think of pensions - you might be saving up for one because you need to
think about tomorrow, do the same for the planet).
Please at least try a few small things and if you have any influence try and
encourage others to do so to. Thanks for reading this far!
