Wednesday Mar 14, 2007
Yes, it's just tax time and I've still put off my taxes. I have this vision of the day it just somehow happens automatically.
The good news is it's almost over, but not too late to get some tax credits for doing good for the environment. According to this article, there are four areas which need to be considered before considering
whether or not someone qualifies for an energy tax credit (U.S.) if the system was placed into service from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008.
Those areas are:
- Solar energy systems
- Fuel cells
- Home improvements
- Efficient cars
I hear it's tricky so go to the source to find out the fine print or consult your CPA!
Thanks for tip Hugg.
Friday Mar 02, 2007
Earth Day I and Earth Day II are coming up sooner than you may think, and with the topic of global warming on everybody's plates these days, you should expect a lot more awareness around these events than in year's past. I encourage everyone to plan to do something that has some positive impact on the environment outside of your everyday routine. For instance, volunteer somewhere, bike to work, install solar panels, insulate your house, etc. More ideas to come.
I want to make sure everyone on the planet is starting to be aware of these two days.
Global Earth Day is March 21st
U.S. Earth Day is April 22nd.
Now to the point of my post:
Curious why there are two Earth Days when there is only one earth?
I was too.
Time to start a One Earth, One Earth Day campaign?:)
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.
Thursday Mar 01, 2007
This appeared in the March/April issue of Sierra Club Magazine highlighting Sun's role as an eco responsible company. The story is packed with facts and figures, which resulted in a very informative piece.
<SNIP>
IF IT CONSUMES ENERGY, Dave Douglas wants to know
about it. Vice president of eco-responsibility for Sun Microsystems, a
Silicon Valley company with $13 billion in annual revenue, Douglas
oversees all of Sun's environmental efforts. That includes managing the
environmental impacts of a 38,000-employee corporation and every one of
the products it sells--including computer servers, which run the Web
sites, networks, and databases of virtually any corporation or large
organization you can imagine.
No issue is too small: One of Douglas's recent blog entries fretted
over the volume of greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture and
transport of the freebie briefcases he receives at environmental
conferences, as well as the planetary effect of traveling to those
confabs. "Are sustainability conferences sustainable?" he asked.
FULL STORY
Wednesday Feb 28, 2007
Today there is a "trend story" on Silicon Valley's efforts of being green and responsible, highlighting Sun Microsystems in the story lead -- with Sun's thought leadership with our servers, Open Work program, our approval by Ceres as a "Ceres company", and the naming of Sun's vice president of eco responsibility, David Douglas. (see his informative blog as well).
How
green is Silicon Valley? Well, with some heavy February downpours
following one of the driest Januarys on record, positively verdant is
the answer right now.
The same could be said for the environmental record of the Valley’s high-tech companies.
Sun
Microsystems this month became the first Californian technology company
to be approved by Ceres, a national coalition of investors,
environmental groups and other organisations, who work with companies
to address sustainability issues and global climate change.
Sun
has a vice-president of eco responsibility and announced “the
industry’s first eco-responsible servers” in December 2005, drawing
only as much power as a household light bulb, according to the
citation. It also kept nearly 7,000 cars off the road last year by
allowing employees to work from home whenever possible, and 95 per cent
of its products are being recycled.
FULL STORY
Thursday Feb 22, 2007
Thanks Andrew for sharing these LED lights spotted on Thinkgeek, to continue the conversation on my "Lights Out for Old Bulbs" post.
<snip>
LED Light Bulbs also have these great features.
- Long life - up to 10 years
- Low power consumption (about 1/30th of a standard bulb)
- Output: Vivid (31 Lumens), Vivid Plus (60 Lumens), Spotlight (120 Lumens)
- Great in a directional lamp for reading, mood or porch light
- These bulbs are generally not intended as a complete
replacement for incandescents - these bulbs are lower output but more
focused
- 120V bulbs
- Two-year warranty
Wednesday Feb 21, 2007
Here's a very informative article on offsetting courtesy of the BBC. Oh, and while you're hanging out online at the BBC, here's their interactive guide to climate change.
Tuesday Feb 20, 2007
Could standard light bulbs be banned and people forced to buy eco bulbs?
I saw this article on Google News without even being logged in to give me personal news stories, so this is obviously a "glowing" topic getting lots of press. Here are a few snips from this New Zealand article.
Australia: Making eco bulbs a standard by 2010
California: also moved to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2012 under
a proposed "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb
Act".
The "Eco bulb" claims to use one-fifth of the energy, last up to nine years and save $100 in electricity costs.
New bulbs in homes were already saving 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide a year and "you could add a zero to that if the whole
country switched over".
Wednesday Feb 14, 2007
The first ever Climate Change Week is coming up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 8-9 (if anyone from Malaysia reads this blog!?). A book will be launched simultaneously titled 'Cut Carbon Grow Profits' that will be highlighting leading companies and what they're doing.
Why on earth am I telling you this?
Sun will be featured in the book for the company's Eco Responsible Initiative -- both on its commitment and its leadership.
Friday Feb 02, 2007
Did anyone notice the new eco theme for roller that was quietly launched yesterday? It's really cool and compliments of the eco marketing team. Anyone can use it. I just changed mine over. It's for anyone to use to spread awareness of the importance of being eco responsible.
More on what went into the design of it later, but lots of new functionality including eco facts and eco action, cool comments widget, tagging, etc.
All about raising awareness in innovative ways.
Back to work...
Tuesday Jan 30, 2007
Back from my Florida vacation. I was off but I was on, talking to my parents about the importance of being green.
Back on the homebase, we had a flurry of press coverage.
COOL ECO PODCAST
http://podcast.tech-talk-with-craig-peterson.com/index.php?id=501
Running Wild
The Wall Street Journal, Christopher
Lawton;
January 29, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116974913653887953.html
Servers have gotten much more powerful in
recent years. But they've also gotten hungrier.
In 2006, businesses world-wide spent about
$55.4 billion on new servers, according to market-research firm IDC. To
power and cool those machines, they spent $29 billion, almost half the
cost of the equipment itself -- and that number is rising. With the
average
server system, the customer spends "more on power and cooling over
its entire life cycle than what they will spend up front," says
Michelle
Bailey, research vice president at IDC.
Energy Hogs on the Server Farm
By David Raths
Public CIO
December 27, 2006
http://www.public-cio.com/story.php?id=2006.12.19-102972
Tuesday Jan 09, 2007
OK, so you care about saving money and care about the environment, but you still need that one "proofpoint" to convince your boss to go green and turn to a great company like Sun for your eco-responsible computing needs, while saving big money in the process.
Here's what you need - drum roll please: PROOFPOINTS.
Here's one:
Look no further than this article in Computerweekly about how important it is even the largest global banking groups in the world, like HSBC.
According to CTO Ken Harvey (shown below) HSBC says 6-7% of cost of running datacenters (sorry, datacentres) is going to power now where in previous years it was about 1%.
(Ken Harvey, CTO, HSBC)
According to the article:
Any savings on power
consumption will have an immediate financial gain for the bank. HSBC is
rolling out Sun T2000 servers, which are said to deliver up to three
times the throughput at 30% less power and cooling costs compared to
alternative server hardware.
Thanks for spotting, BM Seer.
Buy now here.
Oh, still hesitant? Why don't you try before you buy, risk free for 60 days?
Monday Jan 08, 2007
Happy Monday!
Check out the special Forbes issue on Building a Healthier Climate.
Sun Microsystems is prominently featured. Click on picture below.
Friday Jan 05, 2007
Non-bloggers wonder sometimes why read other people's blogs when you can just read the news. Well, case in point. I completely missed an important story over the holiday had I not read ddnotes today.
CNET has a story on December 26 that is quite interesting, since Sun is a leader in this space when it comes to energy-efficient servers and has been working with the EPA.
<snip from C|NET>
In a letter to computing-industry representatives Thursday, the federal
agency said it "is initiating its process to develop an Energy Star
specification for enterprise computer servers." Energy Star certification is a voluntary program identifying products that meet EPA-set efficiency requirements.
Sunday Dec 31, 2006
An interesting site and service from Better World Club, an eco-friendly travel club catering to eco-friendly
conscious travelers. The club is offering carbon offset options (certified by Climate Neutral Network) when flying. I'm still investigating this type of service as offsetting is a hot topic and there have been mixed reviews. Definitely worth tracking.
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Hey, I have found 0% credit on 10 years !!! <...
The ...