Green IT for dummies

The “for dummies” series have also got into the “green” world.  After a previous posting discussing Elizabeth May’s book on Global Warming For Dummies, I came across a new book called Green IT for Dummies.  This is hot off the press, only published on April 14th, 2009.  An overview taken from Amazon.ca website listed the following main topics: 

• Green technology for computing hardware and software capable of reining in the costly, environmentally unfriendly waste that businesses and organizations generate;
• Focus exclusively on using green technology to help businesses improve their energy consumption and benefit the environment;
• Discusses topics such as power-management software, servers and storage solutions, datacenter cooling, virtualization and consolidation technology, smart tools for managing lighting, collaboration tools to reduce the need for travel, and more;
• This guide provides an overview of what green technology is, what problems it can (and can’t) solve, and how businesses or organizations might go about planning and implementing green technology solutions; and
• Also demonstrates how green technology will benefit the business with lower energy costs.

Maybe I’ll flip through it next time I’m at a Chapters….

Tool for thought - stapleless stapler to fight climate change

Staples are such little things in our life but they are every where.  We use them at home, at work, and they are also used extensively in construction.   We barely think about them and rarely ever recycle them…  They may be small but their (carbon) problem is that the staples are made of zinc coat on steel and therefore has carbon associated with them.  According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, 1.14 tonnes of CO2 is emitted per tonne of steel produced.  A typical staple for our home/office stapler is around 33mg, and a typical staple for construction staple is probably around 1g (no reference, i should weigh one).  Let’s just use home/office stapler as an example and ignore the carbon footprint of the zinc coat on staples.  Each staple came with a 36.1mg CO2-equivalent.  I probably use a stapler at least once a week.  Assume that 70% of the Canadian population uses staplers and we all try to use one less staple each week, then T this is equivalent to 4.4 44 tonnes of CO2-equivalent saved per year, similar to CO2 emitted if I one flies for 4 40 hours  or driving 10,000km 100,000km in a compact car.  That’s pretty significant eh?  

I have been looking for an alternative of using staples but current “staple-less” staplers on the market are only good for less than 10pages of document, like these demonstrated on this blog dedicated for stapleless staplers.  Another alternative for larger document is to use binders or binder clips. I try to eliminate the use of staplers as much as i can, but I have yet purchased a  stapleless stapler so that I have been loosing pages =p.  Any other suggestion?  

Finally - I have been staple free for 10 days.

Save the rainforests, save the planet

OK, it does sound a little cheesy, and yes I kind of copied it from the popular show “HERO”….  

But there’s no joke about the disappearance of rainforests around the world and the significant impact on climate change!  Rainforests have traditionally been some of the best carbon sinks in the world.  Unfortunately, with severe deforestation and occasional unusual draughts, we’re quickly loosing the carbon sink!  This is a great article by Steve Connor focused on the Amazon rainforest, the biggest rainforest in the world.  Some of the most interesting facts are extracted from his article here:

• The Amazon rainforest covers an area of some 600 million hectares (2.3 million sq miles), an area of land 25 times bigger than Britain. 
• Responsible for about 40% of the world’s rainforest absorption of carbon dioxide.
• About 5,800 sq miles of the Amazon rainforest is burnt or cleared each year for cattle ranching, farming, …etc.
• More than half of the world’s estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world’s fresh water moves through the Amazon basin.
• Scientists estimate at least 100 billion tons of carbon stored in the trees of the Amazon rainforest 
• Each year the Amazon absorbs about 2 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
• During the extreme drought of 2005, the Amazon became a net producer of carbon dioxide, releasing an estimated 3 billion tons of the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere – a net increase of 5 billion tons.

Apart from Amazon, there are many other rainforests around the world and many projects to preserve the rainforests.  I came across “Replanting the Rainforest” and thought their campaign to raise $1 Mil by Earth Day 2009 is quite an exciting and ambitious venture!  Although their primary focus is to preserve wildlife, I believe that we should explore all opportunities that will make a difference to climate change whether it’s the primary objective or an “added value” to the project.  They are keen to kick off projects this year on Earth Day to replant three rainforests and need our help.  Please go to their website and have a look at their projects and understand the endangered species in some of the rainforests they work at!  

There is a really powerful and important message from Replanting the Rainforest:  

Replanting the Rainforests is not another “Plant a Tree” campaign.

- Replanting the Rainforests

Honestly I never thought much about the difference. It is quite interesting to note that planting trees in large scale, or “controlled forestry”, a methodology for forestry industries to continue generate revenue without severely harming the land.  I’m OK with that, because it’s not like we’ll stop using wood in many different capacities including fighting climate change through using wood pellet stoves and so on.  But controlled forests can’t increase it’s carbon sink capacity!  

And how do Replanting the Rainforests intend to replant the rainforests?  They developed a Sustainably Managed Permanent Rainforest Habitats.  The focus is to find under-producing agricultural lands, cattle ranches and degraded forests and restore them to more natural conditions. Read more about their projects here and chip in if you can!

Earth Day - do you know the earth day history?

Earth Day is April 20th, but how do we know that it’s Earth’s birthday?!  I have to admit that I don’t know why and how it came about.  Of course the logical spot to start is the Wikipedia, and yes, it has an answer for me most of the time….  including this article on Earth Day.

So this is how it starts and some interesting facts…

• 1969, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced that in spring 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on the environment.  The concern then was about overpopulation.
• April 22, 1970, first ever Earth Day, which marks the beginning of the modern environmental movement.  
• Approximately 20 million Americans participated in the first ever Earth Day, with a goal of a healthy and sustainable environment.
• Many important laws were passed by the Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act and the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Pretty impressive start and quite significant impact eh?

Food for thought - reducing rice carbon footprint seminar

I’m still stunned with the carbon footprint relating to rice production.  I had a few discussions with friends and family and I need to find out how to deal with this - because I simply can’t not eat rice….  

Found out that there’ll be a seminar on April 29^th, 2009 on “reducing carbon footprint of rice production” by Korean scholar Won Kyo Jung at the School of Environment & Natural Resources at the Ohio State University.  Here is the poster.  I’d like to know more about it.. will try get in touch with the organizer see if i can conference in.  I can update on what I find out.