Thursday Mar 01, 2007
Kudos to Sun and the JavaOne team...
<snip>
The JavaOne Conference is concentrating on being more environmentally
friendly. As a conference we have evaluated where we can make a
difference in our efforts and have opted to create a significant
virtual campaign and while printing we have chosen to use recycled
paper and soy-based inks. Onsite at the Moscone Center there is a
significant recycling program and attention on the use of electricity.
Below is an outline of what is being "saved" as a result of these
changes.
Continue to check this page to see other ways we are conserving and our partners are conserving as well.
Not registered yet? Register today.
Wednesday Feb 28, 2007
Sun was featured a couple of days ago on BBC The World on how the EU Product Takeback mandate (known as WEEE) is being handled by American companies. The program, reported by The World technology correspondent Jason Margolis features how Sun Microsystems is handling it, including soundbytes from a couple of Sun employees including Dave Douglas, Sun's vice president of eco responsibility, and also the manager from a recycling facility that handles the actual recycling of Sun's servers.
According to the program's introduction, Europe's average consumer produces 44 pounds of electronic waste each year the total of which could cover the City of Brussels with up to 3 feet of electronic junk each year. The report is worth the listen. As a sidenote, The World Podcast in general is worth subscribing to.
February 26, 2007
Electronic waste report (6:30)
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The World's Technology Correspondent Jason Margolis reports on how
some American electronics companies are responding to the European
Union's tough new standards on electronic waste. The EU rules are
forcing many US companies to design recyclable products.
Tuesday Dec 19, 2006
Airplanes continue to come under fire for being anything but eco-responsible, perhaps spurred by this new report.
The U.S. airline
industry discards enough aluminum cans each year to build 58 Boeing 747
airplanes, along with thousands of tons o plastics, magazines and
newspapers. All of this waste represents unrealized potential for
airlines and airports to save money, reduce global warming pollution
and improve efficiency. -- NRDC via Makower blog
My sister just sent me an SMS that USA Today this morning that has a big story about jet polution. And Joel Makower has a related story.
source: NRDC via Joel Makower blog.
From USA Today:
- The FAA projects that the number of U.S. airline passengers will nearly double from 739 million last year to 1.4 billion in 2025
- On a New York-to-Denver flight, a commercial jet would generate 840 to
1,660 pounds of carbon dioxide per passenger. That's about what an SUV
generates in a month.
- Aircraft emissions pollute the air and threaten by 2050 to become one
of the largest contributors to global warming, British scientists have
concluded.
PHOTO SOURCE: USA TODAY
My two cents: Sun employees do fly to meetings if we have shown ample justification. For every flight we are required to get our manager, sometimes even VP-level, approval. If it is a strategic meeting with a customer or partner and are not under strict travel restrictions we get approved. But not all of the time. I have been denied travel before if the trip is not considered strategic. I think this is important to show your managers reports like these so they can further shape their own decisions on when flying is 'strategic'.
Think about what can be done via email, phone, video conferencing, WebEx, etc. Perhaps a New Years Resolution for myself: Fly Less in 2007 and instead of flying overseas or across country for vacation find interesting things to do right around my own town.
One note from USA Today story: The biggest contributor of pollution is not airlines. The biggest contributors are "vehicular traffic and power plants." Even still, "its emissions are considerable."
