Michael Wood

Many people in the ubuntu and wider FOSS community I would say have higher than average ethical ideals.

The problem is that the use of computers, gadgets and other electronic devices will put us above the normal carbon footprint for the average person who is often less ethically minded. (obviously there are always exceptions)

So you might think i’m about to tell you to stop using all your gadgets etc but i’m not, technology is ever increasingly part of the way mankind is evolving and it has a permanent place in society almost certainly is a big part in providing solutions to climate change.

The major problem is that a lot of our stuff hasn’t been designed with energy efficiency in mind. There is too much in the media about climate change and tackling it, but far too little on what people can actually do, so here is a list of things i’ve noted can save quite a bit of energy.

Action	Energy Saving	Comment
Install powernowd/other on demand cpu frequency scaling software	~30 watts based on an AMD 64 3500 scaling from 2.2GHZ to 1GHZ	Enter your BIOS at boot and make sure Cool’n'Quiet (AMD) or SpeedStep (Intel) is enabled for you CPU - Not all CPUs have the ability to do this. Then get your scaling software running. The majority of the things i do on my PC don’t ask for much cpu usage. I was supprised at how infrequently it clocked up to 2.2ghz during normal use.
Don’t leave leaky stuff switched on	Energy Saving by switching off: Tested power supply Device Disconnected (Watts) Standby/idle (Watts) Samsung Laptop Adapter 7.53 7.53 JBL Speaker Transformer 12.3 12.3 Uniross Battery Charger 7.38 7.38 Sony VCR - 21.69 Philips Digi box - 12.05 Philips CRT TV 24″ - 21.87 Pure DAB Tuner Drx-702es - 7.08 NAD series Amplifier - 21.69 IIyama 17″ Flat CRT - 5.00 Xerox 19″ TFT/LCD XAP - <1 Also tested: Sony Camera Charger, Samsung phone charger, logitech mouse cradle, Sony m-disk cradle, plugline universal transformer, uniross regulated AC/DC, sony erickson charger, playstation 2, Sony SACD/DVD player. None of these leaked power while in the above two states. More at Uwe Hermann’s blog	What I found most supprising was that some of the transformers seem to be so baddly designed that they consumer energy without actually being used, as shown in the first 3 items and in above Picture 1, you can tell if yours does by checking if it’s warm after not being used and if the power lead is seperate it makes a crackle sound as you connect it up to the main block.On our devices such as TV/VCR/DIGI Box we have connected up to a remote switch giving a 31.41 watt saving (figure includes the device which unfortunately eats 9.59 Watts of total saving to run the reciever) still a significat saving without any inconvience. Picture 2. you can buy these from most DIY shops, places like maplin and specialists like easylife.com (i’ve never bought from them though)
Close curtains and Doors at night	Depends but can be significant in heating costs	According to Aus research 25% of heat losses in a house can be put down to draughts. Closing the curtains reduces radiant heat transfer
Boiling the kettle	Depends on how much you use it	It is estimated that, on average, we boil twice the volume of water needed every time, instead of filling the kettle from the tap I fill up my mug with the cold water and then pour that into the kettle, there are products which make this much easier
Reduce	Depends	For example reduce your dependence on cars Car Share network, Car Share plus Share a Car Lift share My lifts Use public transport when possible, Don’t use plastic bags, Don’t leave lights on and Use energy efficent lighting
Reuse	Depends	Freecycle is currently the best way to do this, A lot of things arn’t worth the time to sell, with freecycle you can just email your local list and see if anyone wants them, they can then arrange with you to come and pick up the item. I’ve personally given away many things on freecycle and recieved many things too.
Recycling	Depends	The majority of our rubbish can now be recycled
Grow your own food	Depends	You can’t get more local than your garden and it’s sustainable, it’s also very satisfying
Take the train/boat	Depends	You can get almost everywhere by train or boat including abroad, it’s less stressful and provides a real sense of travel.
Eat less/no meat products	Depends	Unfortunately for you avid meat eaters, it takes more energy to produce meat than you can get from it. Various things cause this to be true; Inefficient energy transformation, space inefficiency, transport inefficient, wasteage, pollution from cattle, species manipulation and in some parts rainforest destruction
Turn the termostat down/make sure central heating is off in warm weather	Depends	When you change the termostat down you may feel the cold more, but that, aslong as you haven’t changed it down too far will just be time for your body to adapt, research sugests that a ~2*C change is not generally noticable also turning it down gradually helps. 18*C is said to be the minimum comfort level. 22*C is recommened

Addition 20/10/07: Don’t use battery power when you don’t have to ! Quite a bit of energy is lost in the charging process. Also try and buy electronic devices, especially fridges and freezers (the devices that count towards the majority of your electricity usage) that have good energy ratings, all should be marked with a rating guide A being the best. That’s about all folks, Please add your comments on other ways people can save energy.