Telesite USA

IT Opens Up Green Doors

June 28, 2010 – 9:17 am

Most of our communication is now done digitally. Phone calls are replacing in-person meetings and email has become the source of most newsletters, retail offers, and even personal greeting cards and invitations. Some people argue that the digital age is worsening our ability to communicate because so much of our interaction occurs through typed messages. Regardless of the personal effect it may be having, digital communication is a great way to reduce waste, carbon emissions, and fight global warming.When you send an email, the only energy consumed is that required to power electricity to run the computer. However, when you send a letter, you are not only using paper, but depending how far that letter must go, a great deal of fuel may be required to transport it to its destination. Another energy saving telecommunication technology is video-conferencing. This saves both time and money. Friends, family, and business partners from around the world can instantly be sitting face to face with video conferencing technology. Instead of having to travel to meet whoever is on the other side of the screen, you simply turn on your computer. No travel time, or fuel for cars or planes is necessary. Computer filing is another green practice that is saving millions of tons of paper. There are a number of advantages to this type of system besides just its reduction of paper use. Computer files are much easier to locate with digital search systems and files can be instantly transferred whenever necessary using email attachments. You also can store more files on one small hard drive than in a five foot tall filing cabinet. As long as you back up any important data stored on a computer, the risk of loss or damage to your documents and files is minimal.The switch to digital is nothing new, but we are now beginning to truly understand the profound impacts these changes can have on the environment.