Editor’s Note: If you missed our morning post today, be sure to check out the new format of our BUMPS column as the first of many birth stories is shared HERE. Now, as the United Nations Climate Change Conference continues in Copenhagen, Susan MacVittie from the Comox Valley’s own Watershed Sentinel is here today to talk a bit about how we can make a difference this holiday season by considering the effects that our electronic purchases have on the climate. Here she is:

It seems that the brighter colours and sharper images that flat screen TVs offer come at a price. They are electricity hogs. LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, which account for 90% of the four million TVs purchased in California each year, consume 43% more energy on average than the older cathode ray tube TVs (CRTs), while plasma TVs use three times as much. A 60-inch plasma TV uses more power in a few hours than the largest residential refrigerator running 24 hours.

This is partly because, in the midst of TV upgrading, consumers often go bigger. Another factor is brightness. Obviously, the bright picture is one of the advantages of high definition TVs over CRTs, but adjusting that down will cut energy use, and it will also make your TV last longer.

The California Energy Commission is preparing to vote in November on new power-saving standards for flat screen TVs. The rules would require sets that cut electricity use 30 per cent by 2011, and 50 per cent by 2015.

Energy Commission Spokesman Adam Gottlieb says the standards will help reduce the demand on local power plants. “Televisions in California now average 10 per cent of our home consumption. And, it’s rising. This proposal will make Californians’ televisions more energy efficient, save money and save energy.”

As to be expected, industry is not happy with the proposed regulations. Jim Palumbo, President of the Plasma Display Coalition, which opposes the rules, says many of the flat screen TVs on the market already exceed the energy standards the state is considering. He also says the rules would force flat screen firms to remove 20 per cent of their sets from store shelves…limiting consumer choice.

Clearly consumer choice takes precedence over energy conservation. Say Hello to more hydro-electric projects that are thrust upon pristine wilderness areas.

Here are 9 tips for Greener Electronics

1. Go rechargeable. 15 billion batteries produced and sold each year are mostly disposable alkaline batteries. Look for electronics that are rechargeable. For removable batteries, lithium-ion (Li-Ion) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) are cost-effective, green alternatives. The fastest battery chargers can juice up AAs in about 15 minutes, and will pay for themselves quite quickly.

2. Kill Vampire Power. Just because your cell phone is unplugged from the charger or your TV is off, doesn’t mean these devices aren’t drawing a current and running up your electricity bill. Devices that have a standby mode do the same thing. To make sure you aren’t wasting energy, pull the plug on devices when not in use or put all of your electronics and chargers on a power bar. This way you can flip the power strip off when your electronics are not in use.

3. Buy with energy in mind. Some types of electronics suck more energy than others. Doing research on different technologies and their respective energy consumption can save you in the long run. For example, if you want a flat panel television, look into LCD models, which use much less energy than plasmas. Look for products labelled with Energy Star, the international symbol of premium energy efficiency. For more info on Energy Star check the Office of Energy Efficiency website:
HERE

4. Treat those batteries right. Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) need very little preventative maintenance but discharge them fully before recharge,
do not ‘top up.’ Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMh) are slightly less robust than NiCd (but have higher capacities), and need no discharge before charging. Your battery is most likely to be Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) or Lithium Ion Polymer (LiPo) which has the highest performance, but is the most fragile.

They have a finite life whether you use them or not, but generally the harder they work the shorter their life. They hate high temperatures, and long periods of deep discharge. Don’t store them fully charged for long period (ie. 6 months), they prefer a partial charge of about two thirds for long periods of storage.

5. Make it a short circuit. Cell phones are among the fastest growing types of trash so don’t just throw your old one out – this risks releasing chemicals into the ecosystem. Many organizations are in need of computers and other electronic donations or you could try re-selling them. At the very least, recycle. Check Return-It Electronics to find where you can drop off your electronic devices. www.encorp.ca

6. Buy used. Don’t want to spend a fortune on technology? You can find top quality, totally functional used electronics at sites like Ebay, Craigslist and yard sales. This not only cuts down on the amount of new resources being used for the production of more stuff, it also creates a market for sellers to safely recirculate electronics they’re no longer using. Of course, our greenest electronic is the one we don’t buy!

7. Bright idea: The solar charger. There are an increasing number of options for on-the-go solar power. From handheld to backpack power, solar chargers now come in a spectrum of types for juicing up phones, PDAs, Bluetooth headsets, iPods, and laptops. Many have an onboard battery pack that can charge while the solar cells are in the sun, and then transfer the power to your device when you need it.

8. Extend use. There’s definitely a cult around replacing our electronic toys and tools every 15 minutes or so when a new model comes out. In some cases, the older models are superior. Step back from the whole technophelia thing and take stock of what your real needs are.

9. Look for EPEAT. EPEAT(electronic product environmental assessment tool) is an attempt at environmental certification for computers (CPUs, monitors, and notebooks). Released in early 2006, a growing number of products have been registered with EPEAT.
www.epeat.net

Watershed Sentinel is Western Canada’s only environmental magazine – with provocative, investigative articles and more. They also have a great subscription special going this holiday season (30% off a 1-year subscription with a 2010 Western Canada Wildlife Calendar included). You can get all of the details at watershedsentinel.ca

Photography made available through a FLICKR Creative Commons license, courtesy of Jo Christian Oterhals