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There has been a great deal of mention in the media of late to do with saving energy. Increasing numbers are opting to saving energy, reducing costs on bills as well as to protect the environment.
 
Whilst going "green" is becoming more widely practiced, especially with events such as Earth Hour and others promoting their benefits, the term "green computing" is becoming more prominent and many suggestions have been put forward to reduce our carbon footprint. We felt we could add a few suggestions though to the list:
 
TURN OFF YOUR PC AT THE END OF THE DAY:
By turning of your computer at the end of the day, you will save over 15kg of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. However, we advise it may not always be best to regularly turn your computer off and on continually, especially if it used several times in a day. It is best to turn it on in the morning and turn off your computer at night - rather than on and off throughout the day as this can be more harmful to both to your computer and to your bills than the reduction of energy!
 
DISABLE SCREENSAVERS, TURN OFF MONITOR INSTEAD:
It is recommended that you disable screensavers as they can stop the computer from entering a low power state when you are away from your desk.
Windows' Control Panel Display properties can enable or disable these features.
 
RATHER THAN USING GOOGLE, USE BLACKLE:
According to their website (http://www.blackle.com), it saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. Research from Roberson et al, 2002
(http://enduse.lbl.gov/Info/LBNL-48581.pdf) states that "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's colour settings and desktop graphics, as well as the colour and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or
dark) screen."
 
PRINT PAGES IN DOUBLE-SIDED BLACK AND WHITE RATHER THAN SINGLE-SIDED COLOUR:
Save trees and ink by printing black and white double-sided pages, rather than in colour on single-sided. Also, why not recycle the paper once you are finished with the page, you can use it as scrap paper for taking messages!
Windows' Control Panel Printer properties can enable these features.
 
DONATE/TRADE-IN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT NO LONGER REQUIRED:
Whilst computer usage in homes and businesses is becoming more prominent these days, community groups don't always have the privilege of having such technology readily in use. Why not donate your equipment to a charity that could use the computer for their own business, or even to train their employees or clients in the use of computers. Some computer manufacturers also provide a trade-in service and offer a discount when you purchase a replacement computer from them.
 
RECYCLE COMPUTER ACCESSORIES FOR OTHER PURPOSES:
Contrary to belief, computer accessories can be recycled even past their use by date (although we don't recommend refilling ink cartridges). For instance, a common use of a disc is some office cubicles is as a reflector on your computer screen to see if someone is 'eavesdropping' over you!
Another one is to just donate it to a recycling place that will pull apart the accessories and build or upgrade a computer from scratch.
 
For additional resources on green computing check out the Wikipedia article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing. For more information on saving energy in your home and office, visit the Queensland Government's ClimateSmart Living page at http://www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au/your_home/studyoffice (Some actions you can take to improve your home's carbon footprint are also on this website.).