Green Computing

Environmental topics including cross-posts from the Earthjustice blog

Telecommuting Is About More Than Just The Technology

We’ve hit the golden age of telework, with myriad options to work remotely from a broadband-connected home, a hotel, or a cafe on a mobile device. The explosion of cloud and mobile technologies makes our actual location the least important aspect of connecting with our applications and data. And there are more and more reasons to support working remotely. Per Reuters, the state of commuting is a “virtual horror show”, with the average commute costing the working poor six percent of their income. It’s three percent for more wealthy Americans. And long commutes have negative impacts on health and stress levels. Add to this the… Read More »Telecommuting Is About More Than Just The Technology

Where I’ll be at 12NTC

We are just under three weeks away from the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference and, as usual, it’s shaping up to be quite an event. It’s almost sold out, so grab your tickets if you haven’t yet! There are a bunch of fellow regular attendees that I missed last year when I had to sit it out, and there are lots of people I’ve met online that will be great to F2A*! So here’s a rundown of the places I know I’ll be if you want to meetup:

Administrivia

For the three of you that noticed we were unavailable yesterday, my normally drama free (and wind-powered) hosting service, Canvas Dreams, had a nasty power failure and moved my domains to a new server. Since I follow what I consider to be a best practice of managing my DNS with a separate company from my hosting service (I’ve had to many unreliable hosting service experiences prior to finding Canvas Dreams), my site didn’t survive the transfer without a DNS update and, as usual, this all happened while I was out of town on a business trip. We’re back today.

What Bill Gates Should Know About Solar Energy

This post was originally published on the Earthjustice Blog in May of 2011. Former Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates gave a talk last month at TED on climate change. His overall point was dead on—we need big solutions for a big problem. And he’s a man who is willing to back what he speaks about financially. But, it was interesting to see him dismiss the small steps in a somewhat cynical fashion, characterizing home installations of solar panels as an ineffectual fad for the rich. Gates said: The solutions that work in the rich world don’t even come close to solving the [energy] problem. If you’re… Read More »What Bill Gates Should Know About Solar Energy

Virtualization: The Revolution in Server Management and Why You Should Adopt It

This article was co-written by Matt Eshleman of Community IT Innovators and first published on the NTEN Blog in June of 2009.    Peter Campbell, Earthjustice and Matthew Eshleman, Community IT Innovators This year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference offered a good chance to discuss one the most important — but geeky — developments in the world of computers and networks: server virtualization. Targeting a highly technical session to an NTEN audience is kind of like cooking a gourmet meal with one entrée for 1000 randomly picked people. We knew our attendees would include as many people who were new to the concepts as there were tech-savvy… Read More »Virtualization: The Revolution in Server Management and Why You Should Adopt It

Tech Tips From The Nonprofit Technology Conference

This article was first published on the Idealware Blog in May of 2010. Last month, I reported on the first annual Tech Track, a series of sessions presented at the April, 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference. In that post I listed the topics covered in the five session track. Today I want to discuss some of the answers that the group came up with. Session 1: Working Without a Wire This session covered wireless technologies, from cell phones to laptops. Some conclusions: The state of wireless is still not 100%, but it’s better than it was last year and it’s still improving Major metropolitan areas are… Read More »Tech Tips From The Nonprofit Technology Conference

The NPTech Lineup

It’s time for another quick note on upcoming events and happenings in my nonprofit-focused life. These are spare on details, but I’ll be making noise as they finalize. First, you’re looking at the newest Idealware board member.

A Sane Proposal Regarding Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is Climate Change. Here’s my pitch for an immediate step that could be taken to reduce the production of greenhouse gases significantly, while promoting good health; improving the economy in rural America; and reducing cruelty to animals. In fact, this suggestion is so logical that it’s a travesty that I have to suggest it. It makes Sarah Silverman’s recent hunger-ending proposal look paltry in comparison. Here’s my suggestion:

Close down Factory Farms.

The Environmental Legacy of Woodstock

This post was originally published on the Earthjustice Blog in August of 2009. Much is spoken about the legacy of Woodstock, the concert that defined a musical era, now celebrating a 40-year reunion. I came across this fascinating slideshow onTreehugger’s website, discussing the post-Woodstock environmental activities of some of the famous rock and folk musicians that performed there. While some might be skeptical as to how great a conference Woodstock was, discovering this 40-year history of environmental stewardship that followed speaks to the historic importance of the event. The slideshow notes some fascinating environmental pursuits of classic 60’s artists. Here are some additional links and… Read More »The Environmental Legacy of Woodstock