29 Apr 09 Turn Your Office Into An Environmentally Friendly Zone

With all the talk of global warming, most of us are  looking for ways that we can reduce our own carbon footprint.  You know, that one we’ve been stamping across the face of the earth for our entire lives.  Although most people don’t take the time, there are plenty of ways that you can easily do that, and also greatly reduce the negative effect you’re having on the environment.  Essentially just by changing your workstation into a more eco-friendly set-up, you‘re already taking a huge step in the right direction.  And the first thing you’ll want to keep in mind while setting up either your home workstation or your office, is in looking for products that meet common green technology standards.

First off you want computers and monitors with easy to replace parts and accessories.  That way if something breaks down you can easily replace and repair the computer parts, and save that PC for longer.  The longer you can get your PC to function at the top level, the longer it’s not rotting in a landfill polluting the environment more than it already is in your office.

Also try and find as much refurbished technology as possible, as this is simple recycling in itself.  That way you’re still purchasing quality items for your office, but also reusing someone else’s unwanted technology.  Anything that keeps trash from building up is a positive move to make, and the earth will thank you for it in her own way.

When outfitting your office or home workstation with furniture, you want to look for products that contain recycled steel, plastic, and wood.  That way no new trees or resources need to be exhausted for something as humble as your desk or chair.  Which is also why, like with the technology, you want to find refurbished products if at all possible.  Refurbished is as good as new, and much better for mother earth.

Also remember to do the important energy saving techniques that benefit even existing workstations that may not exactly conform to eco-friendly standards in their current condition.  Such as changing the settings on your computer so that the machine will automatically go to sleep when not in use, therefore expending much less energy.  Or if you don’t use your computer for much else than work, you could also use the energy settings to change how much processor power you use at any one time.  If you don’t need all of your processor’s power to accomplish your tasks, you may as well save the energy that’s wasted from extra speed that you don’t need.

Use natural light as much as possible by opening the shades on your windows, instead of using artificial light all day.  This will greatly change the amount of power you waste by not having lights running that you don’t need.

Print only when absolutely necessary.  It’s the information age, there’s almost nothing you can’t transmit electronically, so help save a tree by making sure you don’t waste massive excesses of paper for documents you don’t really need to print.  But then, when you do need to print and eventually run out of ink, refill the cartridge instead of buying a new one.  That will greatly reduce the amount of plastic you’re throwing away, and plastic isn’t exactly biodegradable, so again, you’ll be greatly helping the environment by wasting less.

And saving the environment is after all, the name of the game, at least until we have the technology to relocate to another habitable planet in this galaxy or the next.  But at this point and time, that’s just out of our reach, so just to be safe, be as green as possible for the time being.  Don’t forget, conserving energy conserves cash you don’t have to shell out on your electrical bill.

Tags: Carbon Footprint, Computer Parts, Desk Chair, Eco Friendly, Environmentally Friendly, Face Of The Earth, Furniture, Green Technology, Home Workstation, Landfill, Monitors, Mother Earth, Office Workstation, Recycling, Step In The Right Direction, Technology Standards, Trash, Trees, Workstations