Giving green
In my search for a laptop (one home computer isn’t enough when your husband is an IT guy), I found this interesting little green one. Only the coolest thing about it is the reason why I can’t have it: when you purchase one these $200 neon numbers, named the XO Laptop, it’s not sent to you, but instead to a child in a developing country. That’s the mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)—to get computers with learning programs to as many children as possible. The laptops are designed to withstand high heat and humidity and are energy efficient. To donate, go here.
2 Comments to “Giving green”
Leave a Reply
All material copyright © 2009 D Magazine. All rights reserved.
The OLPC program is a wonderful way to provide computers to kids all over the world, to forward their education and to enable them to fully participate in our wired world.
If looking for greener computing options for your own use, visit http://www.epeat.net for a searchable database of computers that have met multiple environmental performance criteria under the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) program.
EPEAT (www.epeat.net) is a stakeholder-developed environmental standard supported by US EPA that currently covers desktops, laptops and monitors and is expanding to address printers, TVs, servers and mobile devices (cell phones,PDAs) over the next few years.
EPEAT addresses 23 mandatory and 28 optional environmental performance criteria in 8 categories: energy efficiency (Energy Star mandatory), toxics reduction, takeback and recycling (mandatory), greener materials choices (recycled, biobased), ease of disassembly and recycling, life cycle extension, packaging and company performance. Products register at Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels, based on how many optional criteria they meet.
Dozens of manufacturers participate in EPEAT, with 500+ products registered.
Choosing the highest rated product appropriate for your needs allows you to immediately and significantly reduce the environmental impact of your computing.
Learn more - and search for computers that meet your needs at at http://www.epeat.net
Wow, thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out.