Tags: greenhouse gas, infrastructure, video meetings, volcano
The consequences of the islandic volcanic eruptions will be enormous for a long time and we are horribly reminded of the fragility of our infrastructure, so will built up and so abrubtly crashed. Within a few hours the Island volcano has managed to do what neither governments, climat activists nor anybody else has done so far – to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases caused by the human being.
According to facts the volcano does not emit any bigger amounts of CO2 itself. Probably it will even chill down the so far too high global temperature. Though how will the damage from toxic emissions effect on humans and nature? Positive reactions are seen on the usage of video meetings instead of flying to each other on physical meetings.
Other tecnical innovations will prosper. So even if volcano eruptions are not typical examples, this one has clearly started product and service development towards virtual meetings.
Tags: Green IT, TCO Certified, Third party certification
Over the past months we’ve seen several media reports of quality control problems with so-called “self certification” or “self-registration” environmental programs for electronics and appliances. In some cases products were assigned an energy rating or environmental registration without actually meeting the requirements of the programs in question. In other cases reported earlier this month, non-existent products were deliberately put through the system to test its quality control and product verification. The concerning outcome was - they passed !
As a third party certification program, we at TCO Certified have received many requests to comment on the current situation of false approvals in self-registration programs. Our opinion is that these quality assurance problems are to be expected in a system where approval relies solely on information submitted by the manufacturers themselves . For an eco-label to be a credible assurance to buyers, independent verification of product features and claims is vital. This is how the TCO certification system has worked for almost 20 years.
TCO Certified is a third party certification (Type 1), as defined by the International Standards Organization. This means that all products bearing the label have been rigorously tested by an independent lab, according to internationally accredited test methods. Savvy buyers around the world acknowledge that a Type 1 eco-label is the best possible assurance that an IT product actually meets the requirements set forth by the label and lives up to claims made by the manufacturer.
As our society focuses more on being “green”, so do product vendors and manufacturers. In almost every product or service sector, there are environmental messages and claims put forth to attract buyers. The result is confusion for buyers as they try and decide who to trust, which product claims to believe. This is another reason why third party, Type 1 eco-labels are more important than ever – providing an objective voice in making a green product choice easier.
Tags: energy saving tips, measuring energy, TV energy consumption, Watt-hour meter
Watt meter?
This meter:
I know in my last blog I said that ‘not everyone is able to measure the power consumption of their TV’. Well I take it back…I’ve since heard of a product that allows everyone to do just that.
There are three ways to measure how much electricity something uses:
1. Buy a cheap, simple watt-hour meter to measure specific products
2. Buy & install a wired-in watt-hour meter to measure the whole home (15min job for an electrician)
3. Look at the complicated existing electric meter on the side of your house and use a simple calculation.
I recommend the first example, since it’s the least hassle…and these advices are all about saving you energy. The 3rd option may not be an option at all if you don’t have an updated digital readout device, but just one with a spinning disc.
Buy a cheap, simple watt-hour meter
A watt-hour meter is a little device that tells you how much electricity something uses, either at a given moment or over an extended period of time. Just plug the device into the meter, plug the meter into the wall, and read the display.
