Reducing carbon footprint via efficient use of your PC

Green computing is the way to go

For those wishing to contribute to green computing, here are some suggestions that you would do well to follow. These require change in habits built up over time and require discipline and a strong mental resolve.

a) Usage of printers

Kindly ensure that you purchase the colored printers only if you require them for your business or profession. These take up a lot more electricity than the simple black and white models and are not worth the damage they cause to the carbon footprint. Do not purchase them for their fancy value. Do not take printouts just for the sake of it as you will be directly contributing to more trees being cut to produce more paper. Use only recycled paper for the purpose of printing. You may be tempted to go for recycled toners also but they might not be as environment friendly and it is therefore desirable to stick to the conventional high quality toner cartridges but use them very sparingly so that you are not required to change them ever so often.

b) Boost up the RAM

It is the RAM capacity that enables your computer to do tasks quickly and efficiently. This would mean less time at the computer and less electricity that is consumed. Moreover, you need not throw away your old computer and add to the e waste that is already creating a huge problem. The old computer can be refurbished with the latest RAM and can be used for many more years.

c) Prudent usage of computer monitors

If you are thinking of going in for an up gradation of your monitor screen, then hold the thought for a minute. Have you tried using the F11 key to have access to a better and fuller view of the screen without the task and tool bars? If that suits your purpose, then you need not go and spend on a bigger monitor screen. Each time you require a better and fuller view, hit this key and hit it again to come back to normal. When working on Office packages like Word, Spread sheets and Presentation software, you can utilise the magnification facility to have a much enlarged view of both words and numbers. If this suits you, then why spend on a new monitor screen and dump the old one again adding to the e waste.

d) Usage of power

It has become fashionable to leave the computer on standby or “sleep” mode because people are too lazy and do not wish to wait for the computer to boot up each time they switch it off. But leaving it on standby or sleep mode consumers a lot of electricity and this can definitely be avoided. You only need to switch off the computer when not in use and as long as this discipline is maintained, you will not only save on electricity bills but will also produce less carbon footprint.

As you can see, it is easy to save on power and contribute to a greener environment by following simple green computing methods.

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