Activist Guide to Reform the Computer Industry

[Dapper Dan]

Anyone got any ideas? I need to find "my icecream."

I've got just the thing for you...

Link

[fingal]

Well, just off the top of my head ... I watched a speech by Bill Clinton recently and (no matter what you might think about him) he really knows his stuff about the environment. He had a few things to say about energy efficient light bulbs, claiming that if every American used those instead of normal bulbs the cost savings and environmental benefits would be huge.

It's dangerous to try and predict market trends, but how about retailing low energy light bulbs? This BBC article is worth looking at.

[fingal]

I've got just the thing for you...

Link

Lol ... I like that idea better.

[ImNeat]

I've got just the thing for you...

Naa too much machinery and electricity :P

I heard something about the energy efficient lightbulbs too. It seems like for nearly every product on the market companies are starting to come up with replacements that will both save us money and help the environment. Just think what could happen if we started focusing on living green instead of just doing it on the side.

[fingal]

Interestingly, the BBC have started the following online campaign:

'We need the computer power you're not using. Join in the largest climate prediction experiment ever, developed by climate scientists for the BBC using the Met Office climate model.'

Looks like something to consider taking part in. This is the link. The BBC have good Linux support for their website btw ... and it's getting better.

[redbeard]

Interesting discussion. I'd personally take the issue of computing power the other direction. Instead of seeing computers and the energy they use as enemies of the environment, why not encourage them to be used even more. For example, I've been working from home since around May of last year. Because of this, I went from driving 30-40 miles round trip every day, to not driving to work at all.

Maybe this is already happening and I missed it, but it seems to me that our best opportunity to immediately reduce energy use, polution, accidents, traffic, you name it, would be to have a national policy encouraging companies to allow as many people as practical to work from home. This might not even require real incentives; I think just a clear message that this should be encouraged would make a big difference.

[Dapper Dan]

I'm with redbeard. I think computer technology is part of the answer to some of these environmental concerns rather than part of the problem.

My secretary uses Fedora on her work machine. She and her husband do not have a computer at home. I am encouraging her to buy a new home computer so she will have the ability to do a lot of her work from there. I may even go in “halvies” with her on this. All she'd have to do is VNC into her Fedora machine at the office from home and could then do much of the work she has to drive in for. Granted, my reasons for wanting her to do this has nothing to do with being "environmentally conscious," but rather is born out of a desire to create for her a more user friendly and convenient way of working. In my mind, the fringe benefit is that she won't have to drive miles to work every day, saving her time and conserving gas. This is turn saves her money, puts a little less pollution into the air and makes for one less automobile on the road to lessen traffic congestion. The negligible amount of energy that would be expended by her doing her work from home would certainly be far less than the amount presently being used by her driving into work every day.

[fingal]

All of the above.

That's fantastic Dan the Man. I wish employers over here would think that way. It perfectly illustrates what's possible with a bit of clear thinking.

In the UK there is a culture of long hours, meetings and (I would argue) a mis-use of technology. I bet your secretary's health will improve as well. No-one likes commuting.

[redbeard]

My secretary uses Fedora on her work machine. She and her husband do not have a computer at home. I am encouraging her to buy a new home computer so she will have the ability to do a lot of her work from there. I may even go in “halvies” with her on this. All she'd have to do is VNC into her Fedora machine at the office from home and could then do much of the work she has to drive in for.

Have you considered doing it the other way around? What I mean is, have her take the Fedora box home and then network in to the machine as needed to do any upkeep? Perhaps this is impractical, but I'm just curious.

Granted, my reasons for wanting her to do this has nothing to do with being "environmentally conscious,"

It is interesting that this idea seems to appeal to everyone but the hard core environmentalist. I'm with you on why I'm doing this. I'm doing it strictly because it makes my life better in so many ways. I save on gas, maintenance, time, etc. Plus, I gain the advantage of seeing my 10 month old daughter grow up in a way I never could if I worked in an office. Most fathers don't get to see all of those first moments. I do!

So, what would it take to get the "activists" interested in the idea? Part of me thinks it would have to somehow become painful, infeasible, and involve lots of "Change your evil ways!" posturing. Could it be that this idea suffers from being far too painless and practical to be sexy to activists?