'Cyberwarming' - Say No More

Computer makers and Internet leaders have launched a campaign against "cyberwarming." Yes, there's a new term to learn. Cyberwarming is the portion of global warming emissions attributable to the massive electricity demand of the personal computer. A coalition of industry leaders, including the likes of Google and HP, has launched the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, with the aim of reducing the demands of computers by 50 percent over four years. Until then, consider these simple tips for reducing your own contribution to cyberwarming: Turn off the computer (and the monitor) when you're not using them, and explore your operating system's preferences or options so that it will automatically sleep or shut down after about 15 minutes if no one's crunching data, or typing words like "cyberwarming," according to a story in the June 14 Christian Science Monitor. For more tips, check out The Daily Green feature, One Easy Thing.