There is a new and emerging green movement in the technology space. The sector, which now equates for around 5 percent of the worlds global emissions, is starting to act in regards to its responsibility towards climate change.
With the recent announcement by Apple in relation to reducing its global footprint by removing harmful toxic chemicals and recycling its older products, and Dell computers moving toward being a carbon neutral business, the IT industry is fast catching up to the groundswell already led by green groups and socially responsible corporates.
We know that the energy used in making and using computers is bad for the environment, so what can you do to reduce the environmental impact on the world? Here are some simple ways to reduce and offset the carbon emissions produced in this space.
Firstly change your computers power setting. Automatically set your computer to turnoff the display, power down the hard drive after 20 minutes and suspend your computer after one hour. By doing this you can save as much as $45 a from your power bill and around 269Kg of Co2 from the atmosphere.
Verdiems Edison program is also a great way of doing this automatically.
Secondly buy computers that are have a low carbon foot print to manufacture and use. Laptops are far more efficient than desktops. Most companies offer products that use less power and less harmful chemicals to make.
Thirdly offset the emission generated to manufacture your computer. Dell offers a simple and effective carbon offset program by planting trees. Many companies are now seeking to find a way to measure their customers usage and incorporate that into the total computer footprint. Although none of the manufacturers have done this, it would be planned to add the cost to the purchase price.
With the number of computers set to hit 1 billion worldwide, these simple and effective ways to reduce their impact could potentially have a huge and positive effect on the environment.
James Skinner Co Founder of http://www.littlegreengenie.com/ Little Green Genie's software automatically measures the amount of carbon your computer emits into the atmosphere and then offsets it by buying Gold Standard carbon credits, investing in a green sustainable future and is aimed at raising awareness for Climate change and environment issues. For around 2c per day you can make a big difference.
