energy efficiency

For his Senior Project, Terrell Carter decided to study the environmental impacts of the pulp and paper industry, present some solutions to these impacts, and work to change his school’s purchasing habits and to increase paper consciousness. Carter succeeded in his goal of “Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling”: Lopez School faculty and students now give more thought to their paper consumption (for example, they print double-sided), reuse paper, and buy recycled paper.

Carter chose to focus on the paper problem because the American pulp and paper industry is among the most resource-intensive and highly polluting of all manufacturing industries. Moreover, most Americans don’t realize how much they damage the environment through paper usage: the paper industry is one of the largest consumers of raw materials, especially of water and wood. Throughout the production, bleaching, transportation, and decomposition phases, the paper industry emits greenhouse gases, degrades and destroys forests, lessens biodiversity, releases dangerous toxins as a result of fertilizers, and pollutes water and air.

Carter believed that something had to be done: people had to start to be more conscious about paper usage. He researched various kinds of recycled paper, possible suppliers, and what it would cost the school to switch to recycled paper. Then, he presented to the Board, the Budget Committee, and the faculty on his findings and his eco-friendly goals. In August 2007, the school first began purchasing 40% post-consumer waste recycled paper, which is processed chlorine-free, FSC certified, and made with 100% renewable energy. Soon after, the school purchased 100% recycled paper, and even went on to purchase 100% recycled paper towels and 20% recycled toilet paper.

Carter embodies Conscious Lifestyle’s ideas about individual and institutional social responsibility, and as a result of his efforts, Lopez School and its inhabitants are living a much more “conscious lifestyle.” If you would like to learn more about Carter’s project, please read his paper here (in this paper, he cites State of the Paper Industry and a paper calculator).

If Carter’s story has inspired you, and you have a project that increases individuals’ and schools’ social responsibility, consider applying to be a Conscious Lifestyle venture today! Or, if you want to support Conscious Lifestyle but not be a venture, you can support Conscious Lifestyle by using Good Search: every time you enter a search, Conscious Lifestyle gets funding!

Microsoft and Apple, two enormous multinational corporations, have always been competing to churn out the latest popular products. These rival companies wield tremendous power, with Microsoft at 80,000 employees and an annual revenue of 50 billion dollars, and Apple slowly catching up at 20,000 employees and 25 billion.

Consumers compare the products' designs, aesthetics, models, convenience, adaptability, storage space, and of course, prices. However, what about the eco-friendliness of each corporation?

According to GreenPeace, on a scale from 1 to 10, Apple hovers at a 6.7 and Microsoft is down at the bottom of the scale at a 4.7. The companies are ranked based upon chemicals policy, takeback practices, and recycling.

Greenpeace.org

Microsoft scores high on phasing out the harmful substances PVC and BFR by 2010, but earns a 0 for takebacks or providing information to individual customers. In addition, it currently does not have any PVC-free or BFR-free models.

Apple earns full marks for the phasing out of the hazardous chemicals by 2008, and recycling, while receiving mediocre scores for the rest of the categories. The company has set a goal of recycling 30% of its weight of products sold by 2010.

So far, it seems Apple takes the lead. According to its website (Apple), products are refined to maximize efficiency and reduce waste. Of course, consumers appreciate the sleekness of the design as well. Additionally, many all Apple desktop and portable computers have earned the Energy Star rating for energy efficiency. The company has extensive takeback programs that dispose of used software in a safe and environmentally friendly way. In 2006, it recycled 13 million pounds of waste, including paper, foam, and batteries.

Because of its efforts, Apple was named a "Forward Green Leader" by the Sierra Club, meaning it is one of the top ten environmentally progressive companies.

Microsoft has also taken many steps to become a "greener" corporation. In 2005, it began a packing purge of PVC, eliminating 1.5 million pounds of the material. It promoted efforts to slow global warming by joining with the Clinton Foundation and Climate Savers. LOHAS Online

The company is currently developing an interesting program called the Environmentally Sustainable Dashboard. In a nutshell, this dashboard allows smaller companies affiliated with Microsoft to track their direct and indirect energy consumption, and direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. Microsoft

Apparently, Microsoft even has its own blog for environmental sustainability, called
Shades of Blue and Green

Even though Apple is ahead of Microsoft in its takeback policies and energy efficiency, Microsoft has addressed the problem of global warming more than its competitor. Climate Counts Both corporations still have a ways to go. We, the consumers, are really the ones that can have leverage to create more change.

For example, a campaign for "a greener Apple" is being launched at
Greenmyapple

Yes, we are all individuals, but we are the customers that Apple and Microsoft depend on. Through our voices, we can influence these massive companies to continue to develop sustainable policies.

The image above is from E-Wallpapers.