Archive for April 22nd, 2008

Ahhh … American politics. You gotta love it. It’s all about the issues. You know issues like the atrocious economy. Issues like the war. Issues like the housing crisis. Issues like … wrestling?

Nice. Okay, it’s cute and funny, but is it really presidential to do schtick like this? Wait, maybe it is.. George W Bush was on Deal or No Deal last night.

If you want someone to blame for this whole mess where candidates attempt to look human instead of talking point repeating robots, look no further than Bill Clinton.

The night he played sax in front of Arsenio Hall’s dog pound was the night issue oriented politicking in America died.

But don’t take my word for it… check out this piece in the New York Times.

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?

You are about to be hammered by the eco friendly message today. It’s all about composting and recycling and using less in the news as Earth Day is marked around the world.

Many people take the environment seriously, and go HARDCORE when it comes to their actions. Rain barrels to collect rainwater to use for irrigation, composting to turn table scraps into fertilizer.. stuff like that. They’re on my radar to get done, but require some planning and hardware and I’m not quite there yet.

I’m taking small simple steps to help Mother Earth.

I already use cloth bags when I do my groceries, that’s a good change that was simple to make. I bring my own mug to the coffee joints when I sit and linger with a paper on the weekends and now I turn off my computer at night. I’ll be bringing my mug to Starbucks today as they serve up free coffee for Earth Day when you bring your mug.

I didnt normally do that. I would leave the box humming all day and night, just in case I got a brilliant blog idea in the middle of the night.

But by simply turning off or unplugging the computer at night you can save energy. Lots of it.

An average desktop computer with a 17-inch monitor needs between 150 and 350 watts of electricity while it is being activity used. If you were to leave that computer on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it would use over $200 of electricity and lead to the release of over 1.5 tons of CO2 into Earth’s atmosphere. Turning off your computer — even an inactive computer — for just 10 hours a day can lead to substantial carbon savings. [source]

By unplugging your PC each night, you will reduce your CO2 emissions by a total of 51 lbs. for the month. [source]

Notice the key part of the second quote. It says “unplugging” your computer - not just turning it off.

Did you know that many of your household electronics and appliances use electricity even when they are turned off? This is known as standby or “phantom” power. For instance, your television uses standby power so that it can be ready to instantly turn on when you click the remote control. Your computer’s printer powers down, but isn’t really off unless you turn off its power switch or unplug it. Anything you own that has a transformer plugged into a socket is probably drawing electricity all the time, even when the gadget it’s connected to is not in use. Skeptical? Touch the transformer. If it is warm to the touch, then it’s wasting electricity. [source]

That shouldn’t be too tough either, especially if you have a tangle of power bars and wires under your desk. You don’t need to unplug them all, just the one that goes to the wall.

Oh, and while you’re saving energy by turning off your computer at night, turn off the tv too. It’s Turn Off Your TV Week - so, um.. don’t forget to set the TiVo/PVR/VCR.

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?