It’s Not Easy Being Green in Technology

Written by: Leah Maclean

April 1, 2008

It may not be easy to be green in the current digital world but it’s not impossible either!

When it comes to passion there are 2 things that really strike to the core of who I am - technology and sustainability. Now you might think that in the digital age where computers, phones and other devices are chewing up more and more energy, and being thrown away as soon as a new one comes along, that renewal ideas aren’t compatible with technology. Well I’m here to offer you a few ideas that might just start you down a different path.

Technology in a field

Evidence That Change is Afoot

CeBIT Australia is Australasia’s leading Information & Communications Technology (ICT) event each year and this year they are introducing a Clean Tech Expo at the 2008 exhibition in Sydney. As the attention of users, governments and the technology suppliers themselves turn to ways of increasing the sustainability of ICT products this expo will be an interesting event.

Green Technology Expo at CeBIT Australia 2008 provides a specialist showcase of product and service innovations aimed squarely at the Green market. From new energy efficient hardware, to software monitoring systems, to communications and collaboration solutions, the Green Technology Expo at CeBIT Australia 2008 aims to provide a platform for companies to display environment-friendly innovation.

Products

Recharge from the sun

Solio Solar Charger Solio is a portable, renewable power source that draws energy from sunlight, storing it in an internal battery and using it to charge virtually all mobile electronic devices, including any that can connect to a computer via a USB cable (mobile Phones, iPods / MP3 players, PDA, Game Players & Digital Cameras).

It works by absorbing power from the Sun (or a wall socket if it’s cloudy) and stors the energy in the internal battery. It is also best friend in a girl’s handbag as it saves you carrying around multiple chargers for all of your gadgets. One hour of sun gives you enough juice to play your iPod for about an hour. The Solio takes between 8 - 10 hours to charge. When fully charged it can store enough power to charge a typical mobile phone at least two times.

More details from www.todae.com.au

Light Up Via Some Elbow Grease

Hand Torch Not really technology but still a battery buster …the Dynamo Flashlight and Charger uses muscle power from manually cracking the handle and stores it in an inbuilt rechargeable battery. There is no batteries or bulbs required for the life of the torch. Just turn the crank for one minute and get up to 60 minutes of light!

Matched with different connectors, it can be used to charge correspondent mobile phones. 3 min cranking can offer 2-8 min talk time, or 20-50 min stand-by time.

More details from www.todae.com.au

Water Powered Calculator

Water Powered Calcuator Unscrew the “antenna” and fill with ordinary tap water, wait a few minutes and the calculator will become usable. The calculator only needs topping up on average once a month, and offers a full range of functions.

It works by simulating a basic battery concept where two electrodes consisting of specially formulated alloys, one positive the other negative, are immersed in water. As soon as water comes in contact with both electrodes an electrochemical reaction takes place resulting in the production of electrical energy. To maintain a constant supply of energy simply refill as the water evaporates.

More details at www.biome.com.au

Services

Green Hosting

Green Hosting at Dreamhost Many businesses are looking at finding ways in which they can become more conscious of the resources they consume and those of their suppliers. One of those input sources for most small business is their website and email hosting provider. The Calm Space uses the green hosting offered by Dreamhost. What are your service providers doing to get green?

Resources & Ideas

As Karen posted in The Happening Space recently, last weekend was Earth Hour. Last year it was something that Sydneysiders did but this year all around the world and participated in Earth Hour. Personally I made it into Earth Evening and turned off all the non-essential electric items all night (it was time for a nice candle lit BBQ). What commitment did you make to Earth Hour?

The Electronic Product Environmental Asset Tool can help you discover the most environmentally sound desktop, laptop and monitor
http://epeat.net

You can also check how your current computer performs, using power management tool like LocalCooling for Windows or monitor your CO2 output on an Apple OSX machine using SusiClimate. Both of these tools are free.

Waste Not Want Not

Computer Junk There are an estimated 9.2 million computers in use around Australia. It is expected that this year a further 2.1 million computers will enter the market, while 3 million will reach the end of their life and either be dumped or just gather dust. This amounts to thousands of tonnes of ‘e-waste’ made up of obsolete computers along with broken monitors, used toner and ink cartridges, modems, printers and a range of other peripherals and consumables. Here are a few options for recycling in Australia (if you are elsewhere in the world there is bound to be options nearby).

If you are looking for ways to recycle your technology use the Recycling Near You Website
Use the Mobile Muster or Aussie Recycling Program for your unwanted mobile phone
If your phone is still in working order and you just did an upgrade consider donating your phone to a local charity, women’s shelter or community group (just make sure you wipe all your data off it first).
When it comes to general waste look at using a service like Reverse Garabage here in Sydney.

[image by Extra Ketchup]

So there you have it … ways of combining digital and sustainable. It’s not easy but it’s definitely not impossible either. So it’s over to you now, what are you going to do to make your technology more sustainable?

Leah Maclean - demystifying design and technology for small business women | http://www.thecalmspace.com/about#leah

Comments

6 Responses to “It’s Not Easy Being Green in Technology”

karen on April 1st, 2008 4:08 pm

Leah, you do find such interesting things to share with us!

I love the idea of the solar powered phone charger - I think this would be brilliant to pop in my son’s backpack for times when he’s at university and runs out of battery juice just when I am trying to phone him.

He could go sit in the sun and study while his phone recharges!
annie on April 2nd, 2008 9:28 am

I loved these ideas Leah and the websites which are now on my ‘favorites’ - sustainability is such a worthy passion!
Marc Lehmann on April 24th, 2008 11:01 am

Good read Leah. epeat link was very helpful. it’s hard to find that info online surprsingly. I’ve been looking around.

FYI, Saasu.com is the Sole Green Sponsor for CeBIT Sydney 2008. We are buying Gold Standard offsets to make the location neutral.
The ‘Sus’ in Sustainable : The Calm Space on May 1st, 2008 8:20 am

[...] consumption isn’t easy. Leah highlighted this last month in her post concerning the area of being green in technology. The world is geared to work against your efforts to reduce consumption. To add to our burden of [...]
A Meaningful Life » Blog Archive » The Calm Space - The Sus in Sustainable on May 1st, 2008 10:21 am

[...] off our Saasu customers also writes for this online magazine. She wrote a great post last month - It’s not easy being green in technology. Society holds much suspicion toward sustainability. In the back of many minds out there I’m [...]
Passionate about Technology and Sustainability on December 16th, 2008 2:29 pm

[...] to share my twin passions of technology and sustainability and contributed an article called It’s Not Easy Being Green in Technology. It shares tips on how you can take a sustainable approach to your [...]