Green Matters™
by Crissy Trask
Welcome to my blog where I share almost anything I think will help make greener living undeniable and simple. News, tips, insight and resources served up weekly. I also share my perspectives on others' perspectives and actions. Agree or disagree, I hope you will find them thought-provoking and a starting point for conversation.
Previous Post...Next Post...Information on Reprints...2010 Blog
MARCH 14, 2009 Bundle Your Gadgets
Our homes and lives are beginnng to overflow with machines and gadgets that perform tasks electronically. Some of these gadgets are getting smaller, like MP3 palyers and cell phones, while others are getting larger and heavier like washers and dryers that stand taller than a 10-year old and vaccuums that weigh as much as a 10-year old! Turning tasks over to machines has simplified our lives but it's also increased raw materials and energy consumption. The average home has 25 separate electronic gadgets and machines that consume up to 820 pounds of raw materials and 5,800 kWh of electricity each year.
One thing you can do to reduce the footprint of your electronics is to bundle features into fewer untis. When a single device performs multiple functions formerly carried out by many, it is called a combination device or multifunction device (MFD). Consumer products that perform multiple functions use fewer resources to solve consumer needs, save space and usually save energy and money.
Whether it's a mobile phone that's also a camera, MP3 player and web browser; a vacuum that does double duty as an upright and shop vac; a single machine that both washes and dries your laundry; or a kitchen appliance that microwaves, convection bakes and toasts all in one, multi-functionality is the trend to follow if you need all the features that a combination unit provides. If you don't, you'll just spend extra money you don't need to.
2009 BLOG INDEX
Posts by Topic
Air Quality
6/8/09, Leaf Blowers:
An Environmental Nightmare
Cleaning
4/14/09, Don’t
Be So Quick to Blame the Low-Phosphate Detergent
Energy
7/6/09, It’s Summer
Time and the Livin’ is ‘Green’!
4/7/09, Window Films Can Lower Your
Cooling Bills and Your Tax Liability
3/14/09, Bundle Your
Gadgets
Food
10/27/09, Super
Freakonomics Authors Come Down Hard on Local Food
10/22/09, Hey Foodies, What
Are You Feeding Your Pets?
Green Terms
5/26/09, A Closer Look
at the Definition of “Recycled” and Some Other “Re”
Words
Plastic, and other Trash
7/13/09, Will a
Ban on Bottled Water Lad to Bad Beverage Choices?
4/22/09, Bottled Water
Gets Reinvented
3/2/09, Inefficient Packaging
Awards (No. 1)
Perspectives
9/14/09, Gullibility
is Derailing Progress
8/24/09, Check
Your Lifestyle Before Bragging About Recycling
8/19/09, Simple
Solutions Won’t Work Alone: Comprehensive is the True Agent
of Change
2/22/09, The Unhappiest Generation
2/12/09, Inauguration
Attendees Fail to Demonstrate Change
Reduce
8/5/09, Direct
Mail Marketers Want to Force Junk Mail on Us
3/21/09, Better
Yard Sales
1/25/09, Wasting Trees:
Why I Hate Junk Mail
Reuse
10/14/09, Wrapping
with Your Butcher
5/7/09, Craigslist
Buyers are A Flakey Bunch on the Whole
Recycling
6/22/09, Not
Separating Your Recyclables from Your Trash Can Hurt
3/4/09, Recycle Your
Water Filters
Transportation
6/15/09, Avoid
Hot Car Syndrome to Reduce Emissions…and Discomfort
Water
3/27/09,
Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a
Drop…
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