Dell vows to become carbon neutral.

mparrish · #1 09-26-2007, 10:53 PM

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/dell.jpg

Jeff Nesmith – Austin American Statesman – Sep. 27, 2007

WASHINGTON — Dell Inc. said Wednesday that it will become the country's first "carbon neutral" computer manufacturer next year by making its operations more efficient, buying more energy from renewable sources and planting millions of trees.

Michael Dell, founder and chairman, challenged other manufacturers to follow suit.

"Leadership starts at home, which is why we are going carbon neutral, but this should only be the beginning of building long-term partnerships with customers, stakeholders and suppliers of all sizes to team up and make a difference for the Earth we all share," Dell said at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

... [Read More]

WriConsult · #2 09-27-2007, 01:11 PM

Have had nothing but laptops at home for 14 years. Started out with laptops back then because I was self-employed and needed one, but kept using them because of the convenience, and more recently, quite consciously because they use less energy.

Skwyre7 · #3 09-27-2007, 01:24 PM

We have a desktop that we only turn on occasionally. It's only use is printing, for the most part. We do most of our surfing with the laptop.

laurieaw · #4 09-27-2007, 01:41 PM

mine is an imac g5, the kind that are computer and monitor combined. i would hope it would take less power, but i only use it a few hours in the evening.

brick · #5 09-27-2007, 01:56 PM

I'd like to see them succeed just to prove that it can be done. I just hope that they focus on real energy and carbon and don't get caught up in the fuzzy offset thing.

Three years ago I bought the smallest laptop made by Dell at the time because portability was priority #1. Except for a weakened battery it still works as well as on day 1. I may finally get a nice flat panel to give me more screen real-estate but the computer itself provides ample performance. When it fails I'll probably look for the same form factor in a replacement. Or just fix it depending on what component dies first. (I can't imagine that the earth benefits from our swapping out for a brand new computer every time something goes wrong on anything over 2 years old.)

For that matter I have a laptop at work, too.

BailOut · #6 09-27-2007, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurieaw

mine is an imac g5, the kind that are computer and monitor combined. i would hope it would take less power, but i only use it a few hours in the evening.

Don't just hope... Kill-A-Watt it!

WriConsult · #7 09-27-2007, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurieaw

mine is an imac g5, the kind that are computer and monitor combined. i would hope it would take less power, but i only use it a few hours in the evening.

Probably not. Laptops are designed for efficiency for top to bottom so they can maximize the run time of their little batteries. They have laptop-specific CPUs with more active power management that can ramp processor speed (and power consumption) up and down according to demand; disks that will spin down when not in use; much smaller power supplies because not as many power-hungry accessories are expected to be plugged in; smaller, variable-speed fans; and LCD screens instead of power-thirsty CRTs.

Desktops (including, probably, the G5) aren't designed to be carried around and run off batteries, so manufacturers don't usually throw their money away putting these features into them.

Good news is even with a desktop you should (I hope) be able to put it into sleep mode when not in use, and bring it back quickly when you need it, saving lots of power.