What
· The World
· · Environment
Green Phone · I’ve noticed that having an Android in my pocket makes me more likely to take public transit around town as opposed to driving. Yeah, it takes a little longer, but it’s not downtime; I can be catching up on email and admin work and so on. A huge amount of most people’s workload is manageable given anything with a decent email client and browser ...
[8 comments]
[8 comments]
Not Easy Being Green · I landed at SFO and, rolling into the Rent-a-car center after the usual stupidity, saw this big green sign: “Rent a hybrid and get $15 off!” Since Avis more often than not foists an oversized misshapen thirst-crazed Detroit Mistake on me, I thought it sounded good. So I bounced up to the counter and said “It says $15 less for a hybrid, I’ll take one.” They looked surprised and, after consulting their computers, informed me that the hybrid was a $30/day upgrade, and the $15 a one-time rebate for the whole rental of however many days. Then they sent me on my way in another pathetic SUV.
[6 comments]
[6 comments]
Candlelit Quiet · I mean Earth Hour. Lauren lit a bunch of candles and we just sat there enjoying the silence. Well, until I got out the camera ...
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[4 comments]
Green Biz · Wow, was my employer ever busy while I was hiding in Saskatchewan. I think this whole Eco Innovation launch is maybe the most important thing we’ve done since I joined in 2004. There are a whole lot of arrows pointing the same direction: The rising, and generally uncontrollable, cost of energy. The space and HVAC constraints in modern data centers. The future of the planet. It’s not (quite) an emergency yet, but there are plenty of environmental, economic, and political scenarios that could land us in (not entirely figurative) hot water pretty damn quick, alone or in combination. I suspect the whole industry’s going to be climbing in this bandwagon; it would be irresponsible not to.
[3 comments]
[3 comments]
Electricity · Two Carr-provoked posts in a row today; check out Avatars consume as much electricity as Brazilians, and then the quantitative comment from our own enviroguru Dave Douglas. Suppose you wanted to know for sure how many watts your databoxes are sucking? Well, our server people have come up with a clever little marketing gimmick, the Try and Buy Power Meter Program; pick up a T1000 or T2000 through T&B and they’ll send along an actual power meter. Kind of symbolic since they only cost about $30, but still, I bet this motivates a few people to have a look who wouldn’t have, otherwise; which has to be a good thing.
[1 comment]
[1 comment]
Forest Practices From Above · Via Dave Shea, a visual lesson on modern forestry. I’ve actually visited a clear-cut or two, that’s some real ugliness. You don’t have to be a fanatical green, here in BC, to start having a real attitude problem about forestry companies and their pet politicians. Kind of like the Ents’ attitude towards Saruman’s Orcs. There has to be middle ground; I like living in a wooden house and reading words on paper. But look at those pictures; we can’t go on like this.
