Archive for May, 2007

once you go Blackle…

Friday, May 11th, 2007

Treehugger reports that Google now offers its search engine web page in fashionable black. It’s called Blackle.com and the goal is to consume less energy by using a black background instead of the ubiquitous white background. EcoIron claims that Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year although his commenters helpfully point out that this is only really true for CRTs. As the world switches to energy saving monitors (well, at least in the usage of the monitors and not necessarily in other stages of the lifecycle), Google will need to find other ways to help the world save energy.

Update: oddly enough, when I try to log on to Blackle, I get the following response,

Forbidden
You don’t have permission to access / on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Don’t know if there’s a problem down the road at Googleplex or with SJSU where I’m currently staying.

UPDATE: It works now.

zero energy houses

Friday, May 11th, 2007

CBC radio this morning had a piece on zero-energy condos being built in Verdun (see http://www.ecocite.ca/home.html). Three will go on sale – there is a lot of interest from people (more demand than supply!).

green computer shopping

Friday, May 11th, 2007

The two latest posts at ecoshopper offer keyboards and mouses made from bamboo and ipod nano cases made from 100% recycled materials.

abcnews goes green

Thursday, May 10th, 2007

Tonight’s reporting from World News Tonight

* Concern Soars About Global Warming as World’s Top Environmental Threat
* How to Address Global Warming: A Range of Tips
* EPA Carbon Footprint Guidelines
* San Francisco Goes Green
* Shrinking Your Carbon Footprint
* Fixing the Planet for Profit
* Limit Your Impact on the Environment
* Check Your Household’s Carbon Footprint
* Reducing Your Carbon Footprint