The irony of any website purporting to be “green” is that just by its sheer existence, the site is using energy and creating carbon. The images and code that make up any site are housed and mirrored in server farms that require energy to run the hard drives and hardware as well as fans for ventilation and cooling.

One half of the energy delivered to a PC is lost as heat. Meanwhile, 50 million tons of e-waste is produced yearly worldwide. Information Technology energy usage is increasing 15% percent annually and as computers become more common in developing world, this trend isn’t likely to flatten.

So how can we do our part to be efficient?

First off, turn off your computer when you’re not using it… like at night. This helps you save power and can protect you from viruses that lurk at night. You can do your virus scan and backups during the day. Also, don’t use screensavers… they require a lot of processing power, thus using a lot of energy.

Old batteries take forever to charge, they lose their charge quickly and they use a lot of energy. If your laptop battery is worn out, get a new one. A plugged in computer still uses power even when it is off. Get an energy efficient power strip… such as a Smart Strip, which will turn off your peripherals when you turn off your computer. Old ones can use power just by being plugged in.

Speakers use as much power when they are playing music as when they are just on and silent. Turn them off when you are not using them. You can also use a Kill A Watt device to find out how much energy your appliances are actually using.

Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Field Guide has a nice news piece about an electric drag car that is breaking records and beating gas-powered cars. The more people see this, the more people will realize that electric cars can be rough and rugged too. Check it out:

Dear St. Nick, or as I like to call you “The Claus”,

I know this might be a very late request, but I think you should check out this new alternative to plastic when you go out to deliver your gifts. The german company Tecnaro, has developed a “liquid-wood” that is bio-degradable and recyclable. It can be injection-molded to make toys and addresses concerns that people have about toxins in plastic toys. Arboform is made from the bi-products of paper-making and can be used to make everything from golf-tees to car parts to toys to the nativity scene below. If you can’t get some of these gifts made this holiday season, perhaps next year.

Peace,
The Green Rapper

The turkey sabbatical proved to be very productive. Made a 30 second cartoon for the Environmental Defense Action Fund’s carbon cap video competition. Submitted it just before the deadline. Whew! C-Diddy voices the giant C02 monster.

After taking my camera to the Silicon Valley EV Rally at Palo Alto High School this weekend, I was inspired to put together a super-short song and video. The valley is a hub for greentech innovation and the owners/inventors were cool folks who would let you ride in their creations. Thanks to the folks at Electroportal.com for letting me ride a sweet bike that improves your pedal speed. Another environmental rap for your ears:

There will probably be not be one cure-all solution to reliance on foreign energy and carbon emissions. Luckily, there are numerous people thinking creatively to harness energy from unlikely sources. Syngas is a process in which heat is used to convert a solid material such as coal or municipal waste into a gas. “Gasification” of biomass can reduce waste and carbon emissions since the source material is renewable and organic.

The Boston Globe did a story about one company, Ze-Gen, that heats scrap metal and captures the gases for combustion. Like many of the “new” energy propositions being developed these days, this idea is not new at all. A similar process was used to extract gasses from coal in order to light street lamps in the pre-electric days. (Via Nigel)

In Episode 4, we met Hakan and Laura, a couple who use bio-fuel made from waste vegetable oil. They introduced us to Ray Kemp, the man behind KF3 BioDiesel Production, and the subject of Episode 8. Ray has spent the last few years perfecting a process for locally made biodiesel that he produces with reclaimed equipment. He has also found valuable uses for the byproducts of the production process, making his company completely sustainable. Check out this four-part episode:

Part 1.
Ray shows us the differences between biodiesel and petrodiesel. He explains how he able to return all of the byproducts of his process to the earth.

Part 2.
Ray explains how localized production of biodiesel is best for a distributed resource such as used cooking oil. Using Ray’s business model, a community biodiesel production facility could be started with a capital investment from between $ 5-10 K.

Part 3.
We learn about the four parts to Ray’s process: Collecting the oil, processing the oil, distributing the fuel, and dealing with co-products of production. We find out which kind restaurants are preferred to collect from and we see the production facility that Ray uses to convert cooking oil into biodiesel.

Part 4.
In this final segment, Ray explains how a Biodiesel Users Group works. Due to the skyrocketing fuel costs, biofuels have become relatively cheaper, though Ray tells how his production costs have also gone up. Ray articulates his dream of all biodiesel going to power school buses and explains how the do-it-yourself mentality of his process hearkens back to America’s founding principles.