The Internet and Apple Products Are Going Green!

The internet is going to become 1,000 times greener by 2015! The internet and other communication networks emit about the same amount of greenhouse gas pollution as 50 million cars, which is 300 million tons each year. In this effort called “Green Touch” Bell Labs is coordinating with 15 other industries to evolve the internet and conserve energy. The current system is focused around the performance and the simplicity but the new system will focus on simply saving watts.

“Truly global challenges have always been best addressed by bringing together the brightest minds in an unconstrained, creative environment. This was what we used when putting a man on the moon and is the same approach we need to implement to address the global climate crisis. The Green Touch initiative is an example of such a response.” Said Steven Chu the U.S. Energy Secretary.

Apple filed three new clean energy and energy efficiency patents, creating a new wave of speculation about the eco-friendly products. The first patent will be a device to “register their power usage and communicate” using HomePlug Alliance. The Department of Energy estimates 10 percent of a home’s typical electricity usage is used by devices that are plugged in but are not being used. The system would allow users to schedule and monitor the charging of all their "smart devices," ensuring that charging happens during off-peak hours and that devices are not overcharged.

Apple is working on a “smart plug” that could internally perform a conversion from AC to DC and regulate the flow of electricity to match the device to stop further damage over over-charging batteries. Apple is also making its gadgets solar. The solar cells are networked to allow power to continue flowing to the device even if one's hand obstructs some of the cells. When the battery is fully charged, the user can change a setting that puts the solar cells in a "second operational state" and if the battery gets low, switch to the solar cells as the primary source. All computers can harm the environment, waste money and energy so it's great the internet and Apple is going green!

http://www.mnn.com/technology/gadgets-electronics/blogs/apple-gadgets-going-solar
http://cleantechnica.com/2010/01/19/internet-to-become-1000-times-greener-by-2015/

Solar Power

Solar electric power, known as photovoltaic technology, makes use of the abundant energy from the sun. Solar power works well on a range of things such as on small appliances all the way to power huge commercial buildings. You pay upfront for the installation, but after that you have virtually free power from the sun for the life of the installation, at least 20 years. The cost of solar energy depends on where you are in the world, how much sun you get per day, how much energy you use and how much rebates and tax incentives you may get. The downside with solar power is if there is no sun there is no power. But even if you start with a few solar panels and only power 15% of your home then that is still a great start to going green and it will save you money and be great for our environment.