Laptops Going Green

You can help the environment by making one simpleuses a solid state drive, which is much lighter, more
decision. By going green with your computers. This isreliable and faster than a conventional hard drive. It
done by choosing notebooks computers that arealso contains a low voltage processor and has
environmentally friendly and long on charge. Newimproved "battery stretch" software for energy
"green laptops" take the idea of an environmentallysavings. It meets the Energy Star 4.0 criteria and is
friendly notebook computer even further. They are25% more efficient than Lenovo's previous generation
smaller than other notebooks, last longer on a charge,notebooks. The packaging materials for the X300 are
and comply with most environmental regulations.90% recyclable, and the use of toxic materials such as
These ultraportble, small footprint, lighter weightcadmium, lead, and arsenic have been reduced.
notebooks are inherently "greener" than heavier, largerThe MacBook Air is one of Apple's greenest
footprint products for a few reasons: They arecomputers. The Air's display was the first from Apple
designed to deliver the desired performance whileto be mercury and arsenic free. The all aluminum case
consuming fewer materials for manufacturing and lesswas also a good choice as aluminum is easily
energy for shipment and distribution. Packagingrecyclable and highly desirable by recyclers. The Air
requirements are also reduced, saving materials andqualified for a Silver EPEAT rating (all the circuit boards
energy. Laptops don't use as much power as aare bromide and PVC free). It's also Energy Star 4.0
desktop, mostly because the processor is onlycertified. On PC Magazine's energy consumption tests,
drawing about 35W or less, compared to about 65Wthe 14 Watts it produced while idle is consistent with
or more for a desktop CPU. The added benefit is thatEnergy Star's 14 Watt (and under) requirement. The
your electrical bill won't be as high either.reading was taken while the system was running
Less Hazardous ComponentsLeopard after 15 minutes of idle time. You can get the
Although notebooks are typically much more energyMacbook Air fitted with a 64GB solid state drive, which
efficient than desktops. They are, however, no greenerwill further reduces its power requirements. Apple paid
than desktops in other regards. They typically containattention to the retail packaging of this machine, and
the same hazardous components, and they are notreduced it by 50%.
easily recycled. However, a few "greener" notebookGreen Computing Is Here To Stay
computers are now on the market.Any way you slice it, green computing is here to stay.
Lenovo's Thinkpad X300 is the company's firstLaptops will get more efficient, smaller, and safer for
EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmentalthe planet. EPA estimates that in the next five years
Assessment Tool) Gold certified notebook. Only 15purchases of EPEAT registered computers could
notebooks have achieved this rating to date. Thereduce hazardous waste by 4 million pounds and save
X300 uses mercury free LEDs to illuminate its display.enough energy to power two million homes.
This saves energy, and allows for a thinner display. It