A few years ago, the topic for my Year 5 class was Planet Earth. It was a fantastic unit which provided lots of opportunity for great learning. One of the components looked at Climate Change and what we could do to try and protect the environment. A programme we looked at, asked children to follow the 4 R’s in their daily lives – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect. The suggestions were very practical and many children went home and demanded that their parents start to follow their suggestions and become Greener! If we apply these R’s to our use of Technology, I believe we can make our computing experience more environmentally friendly and sustainable for the future. This post will examine what we can do for each of the 4 R’s in. an attempt to reduce Cyberwarming.

REDUCE – It is clear that Technology uses huge amounts of energy. However, we can make a difference with some simple steps. Our work habits which use technology can be modified to minimise the impact on the global environment. Here are some suggestions:

• Set your computer to hibernate during extended periods of inactivity – Hibernate uses less power than sleep mode.
• Unplug devices overnight (Weekends at work). Energy saving by doing this are huge.
• Try to do computer-related tasks during  intensive blocks of time, leaving hardware off at other times.
• Power-up and power-down energy-intensive peripherals such printers/ scanners according to need.
• Use notebook computers whenever possible.
• Don’t use screen savers – They use more energy than you think.
• Use the power-management features to turn off hard drives and displays after several minutes of inactivity.
• Set PRINT settings – Print double side and only when you have to.

REUSE – With technology developing at an ever increasing pace, it is often difficult to continue using the devices we have when there something new just around the corner. We often compelled to get the latest gadget. However, there are numerous charitable organisations both locally and globally which are looking obtain and then send old hardware to less economically developed nations and sectors of society in need. These companies will destroy all data on the donated computers and repair faulty parts. This reuse leads to thousands of people having access to computers which they would not have had otherwise. Try doing a search for such an organistaion near you!

RE-CYCLE – Lets start with the most important point – Recycle this information! When you are embarking on a greener computing experience, re-cycle your information with Family, friends and colleagues… with luck they will start using similar actions. Other recycling ideas to help reduce cyberwarming are:

• Almost everything connected with technology can be recycled. Find a Re-cycling company near you.
• Computer monitors contain an average of 4 lbs. of lead, a lot of reusable glass, chromium and mercury. All of these elements can be extracted and reused. Find a Re-cycling company near you
• CDs/DVRs contain gold, glass, plastic, nickel and other elements that are completely recoverable and reusable.
• Batteries – everything from the batteries that power your phone, laptop, and mouse can be recycled, whether single-use or rechargable. Find a Re-cycling company near you
• Minimize the use of paper and properly recycle waste paper.

RESPECT – Respect covers all of Green Computing. It is important that we Respect everything we come into contact with. Respect is something we all desire, and therefore something we all must give. By truly respecting our computing experience, use and actions we can help to create a more sustainable future for all of us.

There are of course many more course of action we can take with Green Computing. I welcome your suggestions and comments and will incorporate them into the suggestions above. For the time being though – remember to Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle and Respect… The smallest action can make a difference.