energy efficient

Big Green Purse

For an Energy Efficient Hard Drive, Try a Hybrid

October 6, 2008 at 10:45AM By Diane MacEachern | comment

When my computer's hard drive crashed this week, every techie I talked to said it was too fried to be rebuilt. So I did some quick research and headed over to Best Buy for a replacement.

In case you haven't been there recently, there are MOUNTAINS of computers to choose from. The salesman was going on and on about this model and that when I stopped him short. "What do you have in "green"?" I asked.

For a minute, he looked flummoxed. Then he got a big smile on his face and practically pranced over to the new Dell hybrid.

"Take a look at this," he said. "It's one third the size of a normal hard drive, uses significantly less energy, reduces packaging and the whole thing is made out of recycled plastic."

I bought it on the spot. It seems like he never would have mentioned it if I hadn't asked for it in "green." Great lesson for future shopping.

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tags: shopping, computer, energy efficient, purchasing, dell, consumers, get it green, hard drive

How to Buy Green Electronics

July 11, 2008 at 2:58PM By Diane MacEachern | comment

Greenpeace has just issued its annual electronics guide. Given that women buy 14% more electronics than men, the guide can help female consumers make their money matter by favoring the mobile phone, computer, TV and games console manufacturers that have the best policies and practices on toxic chemicals and equipment take-back. Consumers can also favor electronics companies that do the best job reducing their climate change impact.

According to the Greenpeace website, "Companies are scored on disclosure of their greenhouse gas emissions, commitment for absolute cuts in their own emissions and support for the mandatory global emissions reductions that are needed to tackle climate change. On energy efficiency, a selection of each company’s product range is assessed to see how far they exceed the current de-facto global standard, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star. Energy Star sets minimum standards for energy efficiency for many types of electronic products. The overall percentage of renewable energy in a companies total energy use is also assessed.

The climate impact is important, since the information and communications technology sector currently accounts for ...

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