Thinking Green about Technology @ Saint Mary's College

This web page focuses on small things you can do as a member of the Saint Mary's College community to help reduce the waste of resources related to technology at the College and help the environment at the same time.
Estimated paper use in the Writing Center and Trumper Computer Center
Save a tree - paper conservation
Tips you can use to reduce paper waste
LCD versus CRT - energy conservation
Sleep is good - energy conservation
How to put your computer monitor to sleep (Mac OS and Windows)
Questions

Estimated paper use in the Writing Center and Trumper Computer Center

These estimates are based on the submitted reports from Residential Computer Consultants attending to the Writing Center printer and the Cluster Consultants attending to the printers in the Trumper Computer Center:

Trumper Computer Center printers:

Writing Center printer:

These estimates should be considered to be representative of the least amount of paper used during these time periods in these locations. Averages based on 1400 students studing on campus this semester and 490 residents of Le Mans Hall. Also, there were 14 class days in January, 20 class days in February, and 18 class days in March due to semester and spring breaks.

Save a tree (or two, or three, or ten, or a hundred . . .)

Saint Mary's College has a paper recycling plan in place. Please put unwanted paper in the blue recycling bins provided in the computer clusters, classrooms, and other locations on campus.

Did you know?

Here are some helpful tips you can use to reduce paper waste:

LCD versus CRT

Information Technology began replacing CRT monitors with LCD monitors on Saint Mary's campus during the summer of 2003.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors are commonly referred to as flat panel displays, and they are usually much smaller and lighter than their cathode ray tube (CRT) predecessors. While on the average LCD monitors are more expensive in purchase price than their classic competitors, LCD monitors offer the consumer a lot in return.

Significant electricity savings are possible through the improved energy efficiency of the LCD technology. It can even be found that, in some cases, the energy-consumption of an average LCD display can be half to two-thirds of that for an average CRT. LCD monitors also generate less heat, meaning lower air-conditioning bills in the summer months. LCD monitors also have a negligible emission of harmful radiation.

Source: EnergyStar, http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=monitors.lcd

Sleep is good

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, by setting your computer monitor to sleep when it is not in use, you could save from 100 to 600 kWh per year depending on your computer use habits. These energy savings are equivalent to $8.50 to $51 a year saved at 8.5 cents per kWh. In terms of reducing carbon dioxide, this is the equivalent of planting 1,000 to 6,000 square feet of trees or preventing 1 to 4 weeks worth of car emissions.

Setting your computer monitor to sleep will not close applications you have running, interfere with network settings, or log you out of your computer. It will just turn off your monitor when it is not being used. Moving your mouse or hitting the space bar on your computer will wake your computer up from sleep.

Your computer monitor also generates a significant amount of heat. By setting your computer monitor to sleep, you can help reduce the amount of heat it produces. (This can be especially important in small residence hall rooms, study carrels, and cramped offices.)

Visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "Sleep is Good" monitor power management web site at http://www.energystar.gov/powermanagement/index.asp for more information.

Instructions for putting your computer monitor to sleep:

Mac OS 9
  1. Go to the Apple menu and select Control Panels -> Energy Saver.
  2. Make sure the Sleep Setup tab is selected. If it is not, click on it.
  3. Click on the box next to "Separate timing for display sleep" to put a check in it.
  4. Move the slider to 10 minutes.
  5. Note: If you wish, you may also decide to put the system to sleep after it has been inactive for a period of time, such as 30 minutes. Put a check in the box next to that option and then move the slider accordingly.
  6. Close the Energy Saver window.
Mac OS X
  1. Go to the dock and click on System Preferences.
  2. Click on the Energy Saver icon in the System Preferences window.
  3. Make sure the Sleep tab is selected. If it is not, click on it.
  4. Click on the box next to "Separate timing for display sleep" to put a check in it.
  5. Move the slider to 10 minutes.
  6. Note: If you wish, you may also decide to put the system to sleep after it has been inactive for a period of time, such as 30 minutes. Put a check in the box next to that option and then move the slider accordingly.
  7. Close the Energy Saver window.
Windows 95
  1. Click on the Start button and select Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel window.
  3. Click the Screen Saver tab, then check the Low-Power Standby box and set it for 10 minutes. Check the Shut Off Monitor box and set it for 20 minutes.
  4. If the Energy Saving Features of Monitor box is greyed-out and you know you have an Energy Star labeled monitor:
    1. Click the Settings tab, then click the Advanced Properties button.
    2. Add a check in the box marked Monitor is Energy Star Compliant, then return to step 3.
  5. If you are not sure whether your monitor is ENERGY STAR qualified, make sure that your monitor has been properly installed and recognized by the operating system.
  6. If you don't know how to do this, contact your administrator for assistance. Once properly installed, if the monitor is ENERGY STAR qualified, the Energy Saving Features of Monitor box should no longer be greyed-out.
  7. Click OK.
Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 2000
  1. Click on the Start button and select Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel window.
  3. In the Display Properties window, click the Screen Saver tab, then click the Settings button in the Energy Saving Features of Monitor box.
  4. Under Power Schemes, select Home/Office Desk.
  5. Set Turn Off Monitor for after 10 minutes.
  6. Note: We do not recommend changing the power management settings for "System standby," "Turn off hard disks," or "System hibernates."
  7. Click OK.
Windows XP
  1. Click on the Start button and select Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel window.
  3. In the Display Properties window, click the Screen Saver tab, then click the Power button in the Monitor Power box.
  4. Under Power Schemes, select Home/Office Desk.
  5. Set Turn Off Monitor for after 10 minutes.
  6. Note: We do not recommend changing the power management settings for "Turn off hard disks" or "Hibernation."
  7. Click OK.

Questions about setting your computer monitor to sleep?

Last Modified April 7, 2004