8 Tips to combat Global Warming (for NERDS)
Posted: 18 March 2007
As a computer nerd, I've been trying to think up ways I can help the environment and reduce the impact of global warming. If you have anymore tips that I haven't listed here, please leave a comment.
N.B. Although the following tips are some easy ways to reduce your carbon emissions, they are only a starting point. If you do some research and evaluate your lifestyle, you will notice other areas where you can reduce emissions.
1. Use more black
Last month, treehugger pointed out that if google used black, they would save 750 Megawatt-Hours a Year. So if you can, design your next website or UI screen to use black as a dominant colour. Also set your wallpapers to black (heres one of my favorites), change the background colour of your IDE, turn down the brightness of your monitor, and start utilising websites with a darker colour pallet (e.g. use ninja for searching).
2. Switch off development servers
If you're like me, you've setup your development computer to be an efficient resource. Which often results in servers being left on so you can access services 24/7. Although this produces a very productive work environment, it wastes a lot of electricity and is often overkill.
Try turning off your servers at night and on weekends (you could even set this up as a schedule task). If you think you can't live without it on, look into setting up wake on LAN.
3. Use a laptop
Laptop parts are designed to make efficient use of the available battery power and therefor use less electricity. So you can use global warming to justify buying the more expensive laptop over the desktop PC.
4. Do more on the Internet
Why send a letter when you can email? Why get a receipt printed at a ATM when you can check your bank account status online? Doing more on the Internet will reduce the number of trees that get cut down for paper (a tree can absorb a ton of carbon over its lifetime). If you still own a printer, load it with recycled paper.
5. Put a plant next to your desk.
A house plant won't absorb as much carbon as a tree, but it will make your desk look fresher and help soak up some of those biohazardous gases floating around your work station.
6. Switch off your router while you sleep
If you're not online 24 hours a day, why keep your router on while you sleep? I've made it a habit to unplug my wireless router and external hard drive before going to bed and while I'm not at home.
7. Turn the lights off
Code in the dark. If this doesn't appeal to you, simply replace your lights with energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs (they use less power and last longer).
8. Blog about Global Warming
Nerds of the Internet unite and spread the word. Global warming is real and is happening now.
More Information
- Google Search: Global Warming
- Wikipedia: Global warming
- An Inconvenient Truth
- World View OF Global Warming
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mankoff 17 Dec 07 at 3:14pm
sorry, bad tag in previous comment.
Black screens do not reduce energy. Google.org post describes this here: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/is-black-new-green.html
chris doc 14 Feb 08 at 4:03am
i love global warming
Stephen Smith 1 Jun 08 at 3:33pm
Use grey water for landscaping or even growing food in arid climates. Let alge grow in the pond or puddle in the back yeard. Alge absorbse co2 10 times as fast as plants. It also provides a resource for other species. Put an led light in the refrigerator. Energy wasting incandesents generate heat which then needs to be pumped back out of the fridge using more electricity. Plant trees and vines. Get soem fruit bearing varieties and you'll save energy cost associated with buying them from a typical market. (pretty substantial) Talk to your neighbors. This way you can find ways to share the load. For instance if you find out your neighbor is planning to go to the home improvement store maybe you can share a ride. If you are going to thte dump ask them if they have anything they'd like you to take. Demand your city council create nearby comercial zonings so you and others dont have to travel so far to go shoping. Maybe you can even walk! Take up hobbies that dont take so much travel or resources? Insulate, get green appliances. get low flow plumbing items like showrer haeds and toilets.
Every now and then, turn off the tv's and the stereo's and the gameboys and the computers. Take out a board game or even turn off the lights and tell her you love her and all the things you think about but never have the time to say.