Making a difference

This won't be such a long winded post, unlike my usual blog entries.

I met with someone today and while I was discussing the computers I sell being very energy efficient, they retorted with "How much more power does a complete computer really consume anyway, I mean really.... will it make that big a difference?"

When I mentioned the boxes they come in are recycled, they said "Whatever, as if that's going to make a difference."

Eventually I got fed up with his remarks. I didn't bother explaining that the PC's I sell consume on average 65 Watts of power, not 450 Watts. I explained that the recycled cardboard boxes they come in make a difference when you sell a few hundred a year, or better still, when the manufacturer sells millions around the world. Never mind the fact that the PC's are physically smaller and that means more can be shipped in the same space (40ft shipping containers).

I didn't bother explaining all that.

Normally I would.

However, my comeback had far more impact on him than anything I could have used to defend the computers I sell.

I said "Well, you're making a difference by not recycling, by using a PC that consumes 4 times or more power than these. You're making a difference by negating everything I've said about saving the environment with something, a PC, which has become a bit of a necessity in life these days. If you're going to make an impact, and by taking part in "re-cycling" or not you are making some sort of difference, perhaps it would be a nice gesture to make a good difference, not a bad one by consuming more power than necessary and throwing away packaging in the correct bin, not the garbage bin."

Then he listened to what I had to say about power savings these computers offer. I felt I have made a significant difference today.

It cost how much?

Over the last few years there have been a lot of buzz words zooming around in the media, on the web and in your face, just like in this entry today. I'm going to use as many buzz words as I can to see if it actually works. What am I talking about? Sustainability.

It's become one of those cool things people talk about. But the sad truth is, it's pretty much out of reach for most Australian's. Why so?

Firstly, most of us have full time jobs and can't really be expected to come home to attend to our veggie patch... keeping in mind that a patch big enough to sustain you year round will have to be massive and constantly looked after.

Fine, you say. What about your water? Sure, there are those water storage tank shops that have sprung up all over Sydney. They're not cheap and neither is the installation. Speaking of cheap... Solar panels are not, and you would be silly not to think about installing the and supplementing them with a couple of nice neighbour friendly windmills because it's generally windy when it's cloudy.

Earlier this year the Australian Government announced and implemented a cashback scheme for anyone purchasing solar technology for their homes. We're not talking a few hundred dollars either. We're talking thousands and on most occasions, tens of thousands of dollars to install. So when the Government implemented this extraordinary scheme guess what happened?

Solar panel installation prices went up.

What happened when the scheme was shutdown due to its significant popularity thank to sucking the Government dry? Solar installations went back down in price by a significant amount of money.

So, were customers who took advantage of the scheme taken advantage of? I would say yes. Much in the same way flat panel television sets went up in price when the Government announced the $900 rebate they handed out to every one, including dead people.

I have an inkling suspicion that everyone, deep down wants to be more sustainable and more considerate towards the environment. But how can anyone be expected to obtain a large enough solar panel array to support their household's electronics?

How is anyone expected to be able to afford the technology that has been around for a very long time now and should be expected to have significant reductions in costs?

Most technologically advanced devices get cheaper over time due to the simple fact that it gets cheaper to manufacture and market saturation. Since it isn't cheap, the market isn't taking it up, if the market doesn't take it up, the price stays up.

Talk about a double edged sword.

As a child I remember watching that brilliant show called Beyond 2000. Sadly most, if not all the things they showed haven't actually been invented. However, solar panels were shown on the show. I constantly hear and read about advances in solar panels, bringing up their efficiency and bringing down their price by a significant portion.

The verdict? I haven't seen them yet. And believe me, I've been looking. I'm looking because I am planning on building a new house soon and I want it to be as green as possible. Since I run my own server in my business from home, it's a device that's always on and I'd like to have it powered off the grid. Infact, I'd like to invest a great deal of time into making sure my house relies on the grid as much as possible. I know that it may be impossible to have it completely off the grid. But I want to have the least amount of reliance as possible.

This goes for water too. I plan on installing some large tanks, probably underground for water storage.

I'm open to hear about any other alternative energy suggestions you may have for a house in the suburbs of South West Sydney.