Does going digital mean going green, or is the carbon footprint greater?

As we prepare to roll out a digital version of ASI magazine’s September issue, this CNN.com article caught my eye. How much CO2 does an online article produce?

 

The answer is: 20 milligrams -- that's the average amount of carbon emissions generated from the time it took you to read the first two words of this article.

 

While data centers can be blamed for much of the emissions, the manufacture, transport and use of personal computers and laptops can also be blamed for a great deal of emissions -- roughly 200 million tons in 2002, according to the article.

 

As we all continue to purchase new laptops and computers each year, this figure could triple by the end of the next decade, according to the Climate Group report.

 

So what’s a person to do? Users and Web site hosts can go green by purchasing carbon offsets or switching to more environmentally friendly hosting providers, such as AISO.net, a solar-powered data center based in California. We should also remember to keep our laptops and computers turned off or on low power when we’re not using them, and if possible upgrade to a more energy efficient machine.