Judy Pino:
Many of us spend time thinking about what we can do to protect the environment.  Often, we think about conserving water, protecting our natural environment, recycling our cans and bottles, and reducing our carbon footprint.  All good, but there is more, taking action to green information technology and electronics.  Hi, I’m Judy Pino, with the EPA Office of Multimedia, and this is Green Tips.

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Are you addicted to gadgets?  Even if you’re not, you probably own one.  Yes, and that does include your tube television.  We are all surrounded by technology.  How else would you be listening to this podcast?  That allows for a great opportunity to be green, and to explain just what I mean, I have with me Molly O’Neill, EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Environmental Information and the agency’s chief information officer.  Thanks Molly for joining us today.  How do we green information technology?

Molly O’Neill:
There are some really simple things everyone can do to help green their IT.  Let’s start with the basics of turning off your computers, printers, and other electronics at home when they’re not in use.  This saves energy, reduces carbon emissions, and saves you money on your utility bill.

Judy Pino:
And you can also unplug stuff, right?

Molly O’Neill:
Yes, you can also unplug stuff.  Gadgets that use standby power, such as microwaves, cable boxes, televisions, VCRs, stereo systems, and even the standard ovens that have a clock are considered vampire appliances, since they still draw electricity even though you think they’re switched off.

Judy Pino:
And many people may not know that.

Molly O’Neill:
Many people don’t know that.  So by unplugging battery chargers for your cell phones or other wireless devices, you save a small amount of electricity each day.  But imagine how much that adds up to over a course of a year.

Judy Pino:
Sure.

Molly O’Neill:
Some sources have estimated about $3 billion a year.

Judy Pino:
And that’s a lot of cash, speaking of which, how can we save energy and money when buying electronics?

Molly O’Neill:
People can choose to purchase energy efficient Energy Star equipment for their home, including electronics, appliances, computers, and printers.

Judy Pino:
Now Molly, you and I both know that trends in electronics move fast.  As soon as you buy one, it seems it’s obsolete before you even turn it on.  How can we dispose of them in an environmentally friendly manner once we’re ready to move on to the next best thing?

Molly O’Neill:
When it comes time to toss out old computers or cell phones and other electronic equipment, make sure you plan to recycle them, or as we say in the electronics business, e-cycle it.

Judy Pino:
Ah, clever.

Molly O’Neill:
You will also protect the environment by helping to prevent toxic chemicals such as lead and mercury from entering landfills.  If you donate your unwanted equipment, it can be passed along to those who need it.

Judy Pino:
So you’re doing something good for somebody else and something good for the environment by reusing it.  Great tips for the home, Molly, but as you know and experience, we spend most of our time at the workplace.  What can people do on the job to be green?

Molly O’Neill:
Well those involved in purchasing can buy recycled and recyclable products such as paper and ink for their printers.  For large items, be sure to purchase new equipment that has been designed with environmentally preferable attributes, such as they’re reusing recycled materials in the new product, it’s energy efficient -- displays the Energy Star label -- it is designed for easy upgrading and disassembly, it uses minimal packaging, and it meets performance criteria showing it is environmentally preferable.

Judy Pino:
All very good things, but there are so many products out there to choose from, Molly.  How can we decide which one we’re going to buy?

Molly O’Neill:
Well they can use the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool known as EPEAT to compare and select equipment based on environmental attributes.

Judy Pino:
Oh that’s fantastic.  What other tips?

Molly O’Neill:
Other things people can do, people can enable the sleep feature to power down both your monitor and your computer when it’s not in use.  To find out how to do this for your computer, you can visit the Energy Star Web site at energystar.gov.  By doing this, you will save money and energy.  Other simple things include printing documents double-sided to reduce ink and paper waste, encouraging your company to recycle its unwanted computer equipment properly, and finally, turning off your computer when you leave at the end of the day.  Your company will thank you and so will the environment.

Judy Pino:
And we all look forward to turning off our computer, because it’s the end of the day. [laughs]

Molly O’Neill:
And if we each did just a few of these things to make our IT greener, imagine the difference we can make together. 

Judy Pino:
All fantastic ideas on how we can make our information technology at home and in the office more green, not mean, to the environment.  For more information on the topics discussed today, visit energystar.gov to learn about energy efficient products, epa.gov/plugin to find out where to e-cycle.  And to find out how your next electronics compare in envirofriendly attributes, visit epeat.net to learn more about EPEAT.  Thank you Molly O’Neill, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Environmental Information and the agency’s chief information office, for your green tips.

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