Break » environment http://www.cotellese.net Random thoughts by a technology junkie Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:10:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 White Roofs can reduce Global Warming http://www.cotellese.net/2009/07/14/white-roofs-can-reduce-global-warming/ http://www.cotellese.net/2009/07/14/white-roofs-can-reduce-global-warming/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:52:21 +0000 admin http://www.cotellese.net/?p=502 Green
It’s an idea that is so logical, it’s amazing that it wasn’t thought proposed sooner. Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a physicist, has proposed that we start building white roofs and replacing black top with concrete colored blacktop in order to reduce global warming. Scientists say the idea has merit.

It’s great that we finally have an Energy Secretary that has his head in science rather than business.

]]> http://www.cotellese.net/2009/07/14/white-roofs-can-reduce-global-warming/feed/ 1 Recycling Old Electronics http://www.cotellese.net/2009/03/02/recycling-old-electronics/ http://www.cotellese.net/2009/03/02/recycling-old-electronics/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:30:15 +0000 joecotellese http://www.cotellese.net/?p=470 I hate dumping stuff needlessly into landfills. I had an old PC sitting in my basement for two years because I didn’t want to get rid of it.

I recently discovered that Staples has an electronics recycling program that allows you to bring in old PCs and for $10, they will dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way. For me, it was worth the money.

I just came across The Electronics Recycling Superguide on the PCMag website. They talk about Staples and BestBuy recycling programs. They also highlight some online trade-in programs that will give you gift cards for your old gear.

]]> http://www.cotellese.net/2009/03/02/recycling-old-electronics/feed/ 0 Save some energy over the holidays http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/22/save-some-energy-over-the-holidays/ http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/22/save-some-energy-over-the-holidays/#comments Sat, 22 Dec 2007 15:20:00 +0000 Karen http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/22/save-some-energy-over-the-holidays/ Here's a suggestion for everyone to save energy over the holidays (and at other times!): turn off your computer and monitor or put them into "sleep" mode when you're not using them.

Why? The typical desktop PC uses 100-200 watts even when it's idle. That's the equivalent of 1-2 bright incandescent (read: inefficient) light bulbs. (Note: new PCs that comply with the latest Energy Star specifications consume less than 50-60 watts when idle.)

You wouldn't leave your car running for hours when it's just sitting there. Most of us wouldn't leave a bright light bulb burning for hours when no one is nearby to need the light. So why leave your computer on?

If you're leaving your office for the holidays, turn off your PC. If it consumes 100 watts, that will save 2.4 kWh/day, or over 25 kWh for the next 11 days through January 1st. In California, that will stop about 40 kg of CO2 from being put into the air, and save about $2.50. For every 1 million people who do this, that will stop 40,000 tonnes (metric tons) of CO2 from being emitted, and save $2.5 million. In many areas, it will reduce emissions even further, and save even more money.

The same issue applies at home: turn off your computer or put it to sleep when you're not using it. The automatic power management settings on most computers will put them to sleep automatically after a specified idle period.

If you use a screensaver, set it to "blank" the screen and put the monitor in sleep mode after a few minutes. Screensavers don't have any benefit (other than being nice to look at) on modern displays, and they consume as much or more energy as just about anything else you could ask your computer to do.

You might be thinking, "why now?" This isn't just an issue for the holidays, but this is a good time to remind people. In general, when you're not using your computer, turn it off or put it to sleep. Most computers can go to sleep quickly, and then wake up with all your work exactly as it was when you put it to sleep -- so there's no downside.

If you want to do even more to save energy with your computers and to help the entire IT industry move to higher energy efficiency, check out the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, which we co-founded last June to create a positive "virtuous circle" between the supply of and demand for energy-efficient computers. More than 140 companies, universities, governments, and nonprofits, along with thousands of individuals, have pledged to buy energy-efficient computers and to use automatic power management tools to save energy. As more people make the same commitments, the volume of energy-efficient computers sold will increase, and the very modest price premium they demand today should drop.

Have a great holiday season!]]> http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/22/save-some-energy-over-the-holidays/feed/ 0 How much do your vampire appliances cost you? http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/14/how-much-do-your-vampire-appliances-cost-you/ http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/14/how-much-do-your-vampire-appliances-cost-you/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:47:49 +0000 joecotellese http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/14/how-much-do-your-vampire-appliances-cost-you/ I just purchased a Mitsubishi DLP TV. I love the picture, but even more than the picture I love the warm blue glow of the power indicator that washes my room in high tech lighty goodness. Given that our power is not free, I got to wondering how much power my DLP screen consumes even when it isn’t on.

The good folks over at Good Magazine have created an excellent chart showing power consumption of vampire appliances. Appliances are considered vampires if they consume power even while off. According to a researcher at Cornell, vampire appliances costs US consumers $3 billion dollars a year or on average $200 per household.

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]]> http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/14/how-much-do-your-vampire-appliances-cost-you/feed/ 1 Save Driving Time – Avoid Left Turns http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/12/save-driving-time-avoid-left-turns/ http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/12/save-driving-time-avoid-left-turns/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:20:25 +0000 joecotellese http://www.cotellese.net/2007/12/12/save-driving-time-avoid-left-turns/ Interested in cutting down on your driving time? It’s easy. Avoid left turns. At least that’s what UPS is doing.
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according to Heather Robinson, a U.P.S. spokeswoman, the software helped the company shave 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly three million gallons of gas and has reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons. So what can Brown do for you? We can’t speak to how good or bad they are in the parcel-delivery world, but they won’t be clogging up the left-hand lane while they do their business.

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