Tag: CLIMATE

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2008/04/22/environment-what-can-i-do/'; So you gave your buddy a high-five when 'An Inconvenient Truth' won some Oscars -- that's a good start. Too bad some of your favorite gadgets -- not to mention the TV you used to watch the Academy Awards -- use up a boatload of energy, even when you think they're turned off. That said, some technologies can actually ...

A week after Apple's pledge to be kinder to the environment, the planet's biggest retailer has announced that it's also officially going green. Through partnerships with SunPower, SunEdison and BP Solar, Wal-Mart has announced plans to slap solar panels onto the roofs of 22 mega-stores in California and Hawaii. The panels will generate up to 20 million kilowatt-hours of juice per year and reduce ...

Each year on Earth Day, the shocking facts surrounding the poor health of our planet guilt many people into promising to take action. Unfortunately, once the bamboo noisemakers go silent and the organic-cake hangover wears off, those oaths to be greener suddenly aren't such a huge priority anymore, particularly when it involves shutting off some of our energy-hogging, toxic-ingredient-filled ...

Audit Yourself To see just how much of your act you need to clean up, give yourself an energy audit. Most utility providers will audit your home's power usage for free, but devices like the Energy Detective allow you to monitor your home's energy expenses in real-time, providing your with second-by-cent-burning-second utility estimates. Related Links: Environmentally-Friendly Tech How to ...

Take Advantage of Tax Breaks It's a shame Earth Day comes right after you've spent days plotting ways to write-off your Netflix expenditures. Had you known earlier, you could have gotten Uncle Sam to reach further into his pockets for 2006, the first year the Energy Policy Act tax-incentives were made available. Designed to bring about eco-friendliness through bribery, the new policy offers as ...

Go Easy on MySpace A word of caution for overzealous MySpace designers who lean a little too heavily on the fuchsia-and-yellow: The display of certain colors requires more power out of computer monitors than others, with light colors using up to 20 percent more wattage than darker colors. This fact actually lead to the creation of Blackle, an unofficial version of Google displayed on a ...

Service Your Car Regularly Keep on top of your heap! Regular tune-ups and properly inflated tires can help improve gas mileage. Aside from the obvious financial benefits, even the slightest mileage improvements help decrease the amount of carbon dioxide your ride coughs up. << Back Next >> ...

Plug Intelligently Consider the machine you're currently staring into. When that screensaver pops up or your computer goes into standby mode, it still eats energy. The same goes for other electronics that don't really turn off when you think they're off. What do you think powers the clock on your microwave -- sorcery? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, three-fourths of the electricity ...

Everything Else E-Cycling Central offers a state-by-state rundown of the various recycling centers that accept a variety of electronics. If leaving your front door isn't an option, services such as GreenDisk will accept most anything computer-related you send them and they will recycle or refurbish it -- guaranteeing your data will be wiped clean and erased entirely. Related Links: ...

Ink Cartridges When ink cartridges run out, the actual cartridges still work fine. That's why recycling them is not only important for landfill's sake, but profitable for wallet's sake. Emptysolution.com will buy your ink, laser and toner cartridges off of you, which the company refills and then resells as "remanufactured." Save them in bulk and they'll even send you a prepaid packaging ...

Batteries Heavy metal? Good. Toxic heavy metal? Bad. Unfortunately, batteries have too much of the latter. Dropping off the little guys (as well as larger, recyclable phone and laptop batteries) is as easy as visiting earth911.org or rbrc.org/call2recycle and finding a collection site nearest you. In fact, as of last December, recycling those larger ones has been the law in New York. ...

Cell Phones As with computers, most cell phone providers will take back your phone when you're done with it, with varying degrees of reward, incentive and privacy-invasion (find the collection program closest to you here). Those that aren't refurbished are pilfered for their metal and plastics for use in other products -- everything from circuit boards to kitchen cabinetry -- which keeps those ...

Computers Most of the major computer manufacturers offer a recycling program for their own systems -- as well as their competitor's systems -- through their websites. At ComputerTakeBack.com, you can see each spelled-out plan alongside any sweet trade-in incentives that the manufacturers (and even some retailers) are offering. Just be sure to visit the magnet factory to thoroughly erase your ...

Apple Products Greenpeace has repeatedly taken issue with Apple, which the environmental agency claims is far behind other computer manufacturers when it comes to recycling programs and the removal of certain toxic substances from its products. Though Greenpeace concedes that Apple has recently stepped up its environmental commitment in the U.S., there's plenty more the company can be doing ...

Audi S4 Avant When you're on the same list as Aston Martin, Bentley, Lamborghini and Mercedes-Benz, you must be doing something right. Unfortunately for Audi, that list is the U.S. Department of Energy's round-up of the "Least Fuel Efficient Cars." Sure, the Lamborghini Murcielago clocks in at a shameful 9 mpg as compared to the Audi S4 Avant's 15 mpg -- but it's a Lamborghini! There's only a ...