PAGE 4 I THE MEREDITH HERALD I OCTOBER 1, 2008
scien
ECHNOLOGY
COMPUTING: AN UNTAPPED
GREEN EFFORT
By Julia Houtchings
Science and Teclinology Editor
Meredith College has gone green,
and in accordance witii these new
efforts, one'important issue is yet
to be discussed: green computing.
Are we, as members of the Mer
edith community, doing all we can
with digital technology to become
more efficient and eco-friendly?
Recycling paper, plastic, glass, etc.
is great, but they are certainly not
the only efforts that can be made to
become greener. Keyotta Sanford, a
Computer Information Systems ma
jor here at Meredith, is conducting
research this semester to discover
the benefits of green computing.
She offers the following tips to the
Meredith community that she has
discovered in her research so far:
Green Computing Tips
Recycle e-waste (such as print
er cartridges and old equipment)
Landfills are filled with computing
resources, which contain materials
that are hazardous to the environ
ment and to human health. These
items include cell phones and bat
teries of al! sizes, not just computer
equipment.
A screen saver does not save
power! Turn the computer off at
night or put it on Standby/Hibernate
mode when not in use. Turning the
computer on and off has no negative
effects on the processor. For MC
Laptops press Fn + F12 (Hibernate)
or Fn + F4 (Sleep).
Enable Power Management
Features. Reduce the bright
ness of monitor. Also use features
to automatically put computer
into sleep mode or hibernation.
For MC Laptops—Press Fn + F3 to
adjust power settings.
Avoid unnecessary printing. If
you only need two pages of a ten
page document, print only the two
pages you need.
Avoid Excessive Internet Usage.
Excessive use of Internet sites, such
as Facebook and Instant Messaging
(24hrs online), consumes a lot of en
ergy, so power off your computer at
night because it is not being used.
In addition to the tips that San
ford offers to the Meredith com
munity, here are some more tips to
green computing.
Review document drafts and
emails on-screen instead of printing
off multiple copies. Not only does
it save paper, it saves printer ink
and the power needed by the printer.
Printing on both sides of the paper
reduces the amount of paper used.
Also consider emailing docu
ments instead of paper memos or
faxing documents.
Many companies, such as Dell or
Apple, offer free recycling for old
computers if you buy a new com
puter from their company. Apple
also offers a 10% discount toward
a new iPod if you turn in your old
one for recycling at any Apple store.
Many US companies and 24 states
have begun imposing strict regula
tions similar to those in the Europe
an Union’s Restriction on Hazardous
Substances, which holds the strictest
standards in the world. Much more
information about green comput
ing is available online. Some very
helpful websites include Energy
Star (www.energystar.gov) and My
Green Electronics (www.mygreen-
electronics.org). When you turn on
your computer, check your email,
or print your term paper, remember
that we’re trying to go green.. ■
SAUNA VS. ARCTIC CIRCLE = DORM ROOM?
By Erin Huber
Contributing Writer
It was a little cold outside last win
ter...probably what most people
would consider sweatshirt weather.
Winter in North Carolina rarely ever
includes temperalures that go below
about 20°F, and they usually stay
in the 40s-60s. But Meredith Col
lege wanted to make sure that its
students were nice and warm-no,
not warm, but hot. Students were in
the dorms in tank tops and shorts.
These aren’t nonnally what you’d
I'lnd people wearing in winter, even
in North Carolina, but times were
desperate. More than .half the cam
pus should’ve been taken to Honor
Council for breaking the honor code
and opening windows, but we had
all learned our lesson about keeping
them closed. We had beard about
the girl who had followed the honor
code and ended up suffering from
heatstroke or something like that.
And of course, in an attempt to fix
the heating problem, maintenance
had fiddled with the system until
half the campus was burning up and
the other half was so cold that open
ing the windows actually made the
rooms warmer. But no one had had
to suffer too long, because mainte
nance had fiddled with it again, and
everyone got to switch temperatures.
People who were freezing finally re
ceived lots of heat, and people who
were burning up got to cool down
way down. Everyone was supposed
to be happy. Unfortunately, this
had one minor consequence. With
all the fluctuating temperatures, al
most everyone on campus was sick.
I’m sure that being afraid of what
temperature my room would
be each day taught me some sort of
life lesson. I’m just glad 1 had the
lesson while 1 was young and could
handle it.
Lilith Spry, pictured above, tries to find warmth in her dorm room
Photo CourtBSy Etfn Huber