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.

One alternative to fossil fuels is wind power. Wind power is one of the most promising new energy sources there is out there. "As of 1999, global wind energy capacity topped 10,000 megawatts." (Alternative Energy) Now the U.S. can generate more than 25,000 megawatts of electricity from the wind, which is enough to power about 7 million average American homes. "Less than 5% of the land would be occupied by wind equipment-the remaining 95% could continue to be used for farming or ranching." (Alternative Energy)

A researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said "20 years ago, wind-generated electricity cost about 40 cents a kilowatt hour. Whereas today it costs about five to eight cents a kilowatt hour, depending on the site you're at." (Robert Thresher, NREL) If a household used wind power for 25% of its needs, it would spend only $4 or $5 dollars per month for it and the price of it is still dropping. By using wind power it can prevent 100 million metric tons of CO2 emissions every year and it can be a healthy way to power our lives.

Why switch to alternative energy?

Today, the world as we know it depends on non-renewable energy sources such as oil, natural gas, fossil fuels and coal. Fossil fuels currently provide more than 85% of all the energy consumed in the United States, which is nearly two-thirds of our electricity, and virtually all of our transportation fuels. Oil may be an easy way for us to get energy, but the oil supplies will not last forever and our addiction to oil is the cause of global warming. By switching to alternative energy it will cut back on greenhouse gas emissions and it will provide an clean energy that will always be dependable.