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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Oct 26 2008, 08:27 PM
Well, it sounds like the game Clue, doesn’t it?
It may as well be.
Last week I started hearing people using the term “green” regarding software while at work. I also received an email that had a trailer at the bottom that said, “Think Green…please don't print this email unless absolutely necessary.”
Okay, I thought, what ‘s going on now. I have enough junk on my desk, and I’m not about to print an email when I don’t need to, thank you very much. Although I do know some people who print and file everything.
Inquisitive person that I am, I had to check this out. Email has a carbon footprint? What? I dug deeper. I never thought about this. I know people who keep hundreds of old emails. I’m speaking of hundreds of employees, keeping hundreds of old emails. These are all being stored on servers. These servers are, of course, using energy. Multiply that by all of the offices and establishments in the word storing emails and other data on their servers and consuming energy and, well, you get the point.
So, we’ve been going paperless, but in essence…have we really been helping the environment? Well, yes, but are we robbing Peter to pay Paul? Some say so.
I just found this of interest to pass along. I’m not ever saying that we don’t have to do our part to conserve energy. But I join the belief of those who take the stance that world leaders need to come together to do something to put pressure on Brazil and other countries to control their deforestation of the rainforests. That is the main contributor to the downfall of the environment.
That said, regarding email and carbon footprinting…
“Email is a great application to try and measure the carbon footprint of, because it is universal and there are billions being sent everyday,” said Richard Barrington, head of sustainability and public policy at Sun in the UK. “It is not an easy task but we are looking at the mail servers, the different software applications used, the network devices and trying to extrapolate the energy used back to the email itself.”
Continue article HERE
and ....
“Data retained means storage space used, and storage space used means energy consumed. The more tech savvy reader is probably shaking her head right now, amazed at how it can take this long to realise such things, but the fact remains that many of us still see digital files as existing in some kind of limbo – if they are not using up paper, or taking up storage space in our filing cabinets, what kind of impact can they have?
Continue article HERE
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Sep 25 2008, 06:40 AM
Can you say 340 trillion, trillion, trillion?
That's how many addresses the new system for web addresses will have when it is implemented.
You see, the current system is about ready to run out of addresses. Who would have thought the Internet Highway would run out of addresses? Why, the mighty inventor of the internet should have created enough in the first place, don't you think? And we all know who that is...
Oh no..I thought it was Al Gore!
He said he created the internet.
I guess it was really Vint Cerf the "father of the internet."
The world is about to run out of the internet addresses that allow computers to identify each other and communicate, the man who invented the system has told The Times.
Vint Cerf, the “father of the internet” and one of the world’s leading computer scientists, said that businesses and consumers needed to act now to switch to the next generation of net addresses. Unless preparations were made now, he said, some computers might not be able to go online and the connectivity of the internet might be damaged.
Mr Cerf said that internet service providers in particular needed to prepare and that time was running out for a smooth transition.
Every computer and online device is assigned a unique IP address, but the pool of unallocated numbers is about to dry up.
“This is like the internet running out of telephone numbers and with no new numbers, you can’t have more subscribers,” he said.
When Mr Cerf and others founded the internet system in 1977, he set in place "internet protocol version four" (IPv4) which provided 4.2 billion addresses. With the number of internet-enabled devices, particularly mobile phones, soaring, less than 14 per cent of those addresses remain vacant.
It is estimated that IPv4 addresses, each of which is a series of 32 binary digits, will run out in 2010 and possibly as early as next year. A new system, called IPv6, has been ready for implementation for more than a decade.
Continued HERE
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Aug 17 2008, 08:12 AM
And with the higher gas prices, and the prices of practically everything going up, it’s tempting to believe those deals that sound too good to be true.
Some of them may have basic scientific fact behind them, like this one…
Run Your Car On Water
and Double Your Gas Mileage…
Water can be used to fuel a car when used as a supplement to gasoline. In fact, very little water is needed! only one quart of water provides over 1800 gallons of HHO gas which can literally last for months and significantly increase your vehicle's fuel efficiently, improve emissions quality, and save you money.
Thousands of successful water-conversions around the world are proof that this technology works and will soon catch on! Some industry insiders say its just a matter of time before this water-burning technology will be standard in new automobiles. One expert estimates most cars will be using this technology by 2012, but until the auto manufacturers catch up, you can use this technology for yourself today at a very reasonable set-up cost.
You can go to the ad's website by clicking HERE
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Of course there are several things wrong with this picture...
They want you to convert your car to run with water and gas.
This does sound dangerous for the average person, even though they say it isn't.
And, it doesn't sound like it will work.
The Laws of Thermodynamics
Since you need to use electricity to separate the water into the "Brown's gas," doesn't that defeat the purpose of saving energy/money?
And aren't people too smart to fall for this anyway?
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jul 17 2008, 07:02 AM
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Jul 8 2008, 11:58 AM
Having some technology troubles sent me to the web for a reinstall of a program….
I had an interesting find....
Take a peek at my Righty Blog “Hug a Tree” for a look at how you can save the environment : )
Here ç
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jun 12 2008, 11:54 AM
Thinking of alternative ways to take care of that lawn for the rest of the season?
 Perhaps something a little less of an alternative?
How about an electric lawn mower?
It's something to think about.
And it's certainly cost effective after the initial investment.
from the Christian Science Monitor
Earthtalk: Greener ways to cut the grass í here
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Apr 17 2008, 07:14 PM
I happened to see the following old news blurb:
CBS Evening News for
Thursday, Apr 16, 1981
Headline: Cow Magnets and Auto Mileage
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(Studio) Report introduced
REPORTER: Dan Rather (Windhorst, Texas) Willy Hoff's use of magnets in his cows and H.C. Lyles' use of magnets for improved gasoline mileage examined; films shown. [LYLES - notes he can use them in his cows if they don't work on his truck.] [Farm store owner Cotton FLATT - comments on sales.] [Texas A&M spokesperson Richard DAVISON - thinks consumer union should test use of magnets in cars.]
REPORTER: David Dick
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What's funny about this, to me anyway, is I have one of those cow magnets. My brother gave it to me when I was a kid, back in the 60s. We lived in Connecticut, and he had a friend who lived on a farm. They used to drop those magnets down the cows to catch nails and things.
I can't tell you why I kept it, except it's a heck of a strong magnet, three inches long, and it's unusual. I keep it in my sewing box where everyone of my pins clings to it like mad.
Here is a picture of the thing:
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So, back to the magnet/gas story.
I thought it was odd that this story made national news.
So I looked around some more and found that a Minnesota State University Engineering professor investigated the cow magnet theory, along with other gas saving techniques, and found it to be a "hoax."
"Since the days of the Arab Oil Embargo, whenever rising fuel prices have driven people to try dubious technologies promising better gas mileage, two Minnesota State University professors have tested and debunked them.
Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology professor Bruce Jones and professor emeritus Kirk Ready have tested many gas-mileage enhancers over the years and have yet to find one that makes a significant difference.
From magnets to fuel additives, anything that claims to dramatically improve fuel efficiency is probably too good to be true, Ready said. "If it were that easy, every car sold would already have it," Ready said.
At best, Ready said, some of the technologies may have a minor effect if used as part of regular maintenance. At worst, the technologies are bogus.
One of the first claims he tested, and "probably the biggest hoax," was placing cow magnets on or near the fuel line to improve gas mileage. The magnets - used by cattle farmers to safely collect any metal objects their animals might ingest - would supposedly ionize gas for better fuel distribution, Ready explained.
Ready said his test results, however, were conclusive: "It makes absolutely no difference."
While the gas-mileage enhancers on the market today are more sophisticated, they still routinely wither under Ready's and Jones' scrutiny. Still, especially when gas prices go up, those who sell gas-mileage enhancers find a public willing to try anything to save at the pump.
"The products go in cycles with gas prices," Ready said."
Read the rest of the story, from MSU Cow Magnets Too Good To Be True í here
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Looks like I’ll be putting my cow magnet back in my sewing box.
It was nice to know I had it if I needed it though.
I was thinking about putting in my seed order for my garden to make this though
Instructions í here
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Apr 14 2008, 11:50 AM
I looked outside this morning and behold, my lawn is turning green!
Time to start thinking about how we will cut that grass this year.
With gas prices so high and everyone wanting to be more eco-friendly…..
Well….what more could you ask for?
No fuel needed....self-propelled.
You can use it on those "Ozone Action Days."
Fertilizes the lawn, too.
and, it’s quiet!
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Even though it’s early, I just thought I would bring this to your attention since
the St. Martins’s Fair only comes the first Monday of each month.
Great place to buy that rabbit (or sell one).
H/T: Presentsimple
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By Janet Evans
Friday, Jan 11 2008, 11:05 AM
The body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day will be used to heat a new office building nearby
"All people produce heat, and that heat is in fact fairly difficult to get rid of. Instead of opening windows and letting all that heat go to waste we want to harness it through the ventilation system," said Karl Sundholm, of the Swedish state-held property administration company Jernhuset.
He said the body heat would warm up water that in turn would be pumped through pipes over to the new office building, which will also house a small hotel and a few shops and is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010.
Read more about it from the Associated Press on Life Science
Swedes to Capture, Recycle Commuter Body Heat R here
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