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How can I save carbon with my computer?
By Peter Simmons
Having been a green for decades, and aware of global warming and the result, climate change, I have always tried to limit my carbon footprint as much as possible, and have had only energy efficient bulbs in the house for over ten years, never use standby mode, and have double thickness loft insulation as well as double glazing. But I use a computer to work, from home, and have been aware that this, with its fans, spinning hard discs and heat output, was still using too much energy, and therefore carbon. So when I was given an EcoButton, I was very pleased, and hopeful it would help me reduce my carbon still further. The EcoButton is a small gizmo which sits on the desktop, plugs into a USB port and glows green. When you have to leave your computer - to have lunch, pop to the shops, answer the phone or visit the lavatory etc. - you tap it on the top and within seconds your computer powers down and is as if turned off. When you return, another tap restores the PC to the state it was in previously, with the programs you had open still open and the work you were doing still at the same place. You lose nothing. As well as accomplishing this feat, the EcoButton also calculates how much electriciy you save each time you use it, calculates what this represents at current electricity prices, and displays a total saved so far in both money and carbon. To date, after 8 months, I have saved 87Kg of carbon, representing £44.86 in savings on my electricity bill. Even if I had bought it myself, at around £12 I would have already paid for the cost almost 4 times by now. If this was adopted by a million people, the savings in carbon would be huge. Ten million and we're talking serious amounts of carbon not put into the atmosphere. A hundred million users would make a sizeable contribution to global carbon emissions reductions. But that's only possible is we as individuals take control of our own behaviour. Only one small step ... but conceivably one giant leap for all of us. Update 31st July 2010, I've saved well over £100 so far since installing it, with corresponding carbon saving. Although since I buy my electriciy from Good Energy who only source and supply renewable, I guess that means I don't actually save carbon... except that the energy I don't use goes to replace carbon elsewhere, so in effect I do, though not directly.
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http://www.ecotopia.co.uk/wl.aspx?40000091&req=63-dd0036
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The EcoButton sits on the destop waiting to go into action
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
Fool on the Hill
A blog about the state of the world
www.oneworldnet.co.uk/blog/index.php
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Sounds great, I think I'll get an Eco Button! Thanks for the heads up!
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