To 'Go Green' has become the primary motto of the whole world and thus people are devising plans on how to make use of the natural resources in the right way. Preserving nature is a must in the present scenario wherein the rate of depletion of natural elements is turning into a grave concern. People are unaware of the situation which awaits them say half a century later and we need to leave behind a part of these natural resources for our successors so as to ensure them a healthy life too. One of the easiest ways to conserve nature is by utilizing solar energy instead of electrical energy wherein solar rays are widely accessible and hence their abundance helps us to retain them and use them for multiple uses that we can think of.
Although building your own solar panel feels like a huge situation yet with the proper guidance and support you will definitely be surprised of how easily you can build one right at your home. If you are genuinely interested in knowing how to produce power which will in turn help you save thousands on your electricity bill, then you should try to get information on making a solar panel.
Buying a solar panel from retailers is quite a costly affair and will definitely cost you thousands of dollars but if you will make the same at home, you would be spending less than a 100 bucks and yet you can still make a fully operational solar panel which carefully utilizes solar energy and gives you an amazing alternative to electricity.
It is possible to build solar panels at home by referring to the website http://www.whybuysolarpanels.com/.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_Smith
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Saturday, 17 April 2010
We Can All Make A Difference
How about we all just have a go and change one thing in our lives that will be potentially beneficial to the environment.Why not make a start by changing those light bilbs for low energy ones? It can be as simple as that. Or switch off the tv at the plug when you're not using it. There are so many ways we can chang our lives to help our world without really thinking about it.If we implement these changes and teach them to our children from the start, they will become second nature-get them while they're young! Children love animals, so how about encouraging wildlife into our gardens. We can do that in so many ways. Instead of neat,tidy and sterile gardens,how about keeping an area of garden that is wild- insects love this, and where there are insects you may start to find this encourages larger animals, such as birds and hedgehogs etc.You could install a hedgehog box-and watch them eradicate your slugs and snails!!Put up bird feeders in the garden and nest boxes. How much better does a garden look when it is alive with vibrant flowers and a myriad of wildlife?Don't forget the humble bumble bee-their numbers are in decline and we need to give them a helping hand to get their numbers up again.Some people are afraid of them,but really they pose no real threat unless they feel threatened, and it is this ignorance that some people would find themselves reaching for a newspaper to swat them if they come anywhere near them. Personally, I love bumble bees and believe we need to act now to protect them. We can do this as mentioned above, by laeving some of our garden wild(and definitely not using pesticides)and by installing a bumble bee box- not sure where to buy one? Look in your local garden centre, or on the internet.Be sure to put it in a south facing position but out of direct sunlight,and in an area where there are plenty of flowers.It should be placed low down on the ground, preferably with some foliage covering it.Fingers crossed you will have some very happy bees pollenating your and your neighbours flowers!.Please have a go at doing something to help the world around us- it can be so rewarding
Friday, 16 April 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Widlife Gardening - Simple Steps You Can Take To Encourage Wild Visitors
In recent years, the popularity of wildlife gardening has grown dramatically. Not only are gardeners increasingly aware of our declining wildlife and keen to play a role in its survival, but they are also discovering the joy of sharing a garden with native species.
"We share our small garden with birds, frogs, toads, hedgehogs and even the odd fox. Nothing quite beats the magic of breakfast outside on a sunny morning, watching the birds feed, squabble and sing."
Jane Davies.
The past 100 years have seen the loss of some of our most precious habitats. Ecologist Janice Crook explains "Estimates vary widely, but it seems that since 1945 we have lost something like 50% of our ancient woodland, and 95% of our flower-rich meadows." Little wonder then that many of our most loved wild animal species have also declined dramatically. Even once common species such as tree sparrows are at risk - these lively garden visitors are now on the RSPB's red data list for endangered species.
Even tiny wildlife areas can help to stem the decline by providing a safe home for native plants and animals. It might seem that one small garden cannot make a difference to such a huge problem, but with around fifteen million private gardens in Britain , covering up to three million acres of land, gardeners really can make a difference. If even a fraction of these gardeners gave some of their land over to wildlife habitat they could provide many new homes for our most endangered species. Gardens have special value because they are arranged into networks of green space, often going into the very hearts of our largest cities, and forming safe 'wildlife corridors' along which animals and plants can travel.
As our farmland and other natural areas continue to be degraded or developed, gardens will become ever more important as wildlife refuges.
A Wildlife Food Supply
If you have the space, select a range of plants that can supply different types of food throughout the year. The following guidelines will help you to maximise the amount of pollen and nectar available in your garden:
plant a range of species that flower at different times of the year;
include some early flowering plants, as early spring is a critical time for many insects;
include plenty of species where the nectar and pollen is available near the surface of the flower;
select simple flowers where the pollen and nectar are easy for insect visitors to reach - avoid double flowers and others that are difficult for insects to tackle. Also be aware that some garden flowers are sterile.
What To Do
Small changes can make a tremendous difference to the amount of wildlife attracted into your garden. For instance, by incorporating native plants carrying scented flowers, seeds and berries you can attract birds, bees, butterflies, and many other desirable animals, as well as predatory insects such as ladybirds. Butterflies, moths and songbirds feed mainly on nectar, pollen and seed. Bees too are attracted by nectar.
You can incorporate 'food' plants throughout the garden or perhaps plan a 'service station border' which contains a mixture of flowering and fruiting shrubs, herbaceous perennials and colourful bedding plants, all chosen to provide food for wildlife. If you only have a small window box select beautiful flowering annuals to attract bees and butterflies, as well as brightening up a window sill.
The following list shows some of the most successful border flowers and shrubs offering pollen, nectar and seeds, but remember that wildflowers can be important too.
Garden plants to look out for include: Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), winter aconite (Earanthus hyemalis), elephant's ears (Bergenia cordifolia), anenome (Anenome blanda), polyanthus (Primula vulgaris elatior), honesty (Lunaria biennis), sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis), forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.), leopard's bane (Doronicum pardalianches), sweet william (Dianthus barbatus), shasta daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum), cranesbill (Geranium spp.), sweet bergamot (Monarda didyma), oriental poppy (Papaver orentiale), valerian (Centranthus ruber), angelica (Angelica archangelica), lovage (Levesticum officinale), yarrow (Achillea filipendulina), hollyhock (Alcea rosa), snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), teasel (Dipsacus fullonum), mint (Mentha rotundifolia), meadow saffron (Colchium autumnale).
Wildflowers that are particularly good as a source of nectar or seeds include: lesser burdock (Articum minus), hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), field scabious (Knautia arvensis), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), woody nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), betony (Stachys officinalis), and hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica).
Shrubs to attract wildlife include: Buddleia (Buddleia spp.), Chaenomeles japonica, Pyracantha coccinea, Amelanchier canadensis, Cotoneaster frigida, Viburnum tinus, Viburnum bodnantense, Mahonia spp., Cytisus scoparius (broom), and shrub roses of all kinds.
In addition, where possible incorporate native tree and shrub species, such as hawthorn, guelder rose, and elder in the UK, as these are particularly attractive to native insects and birds.
Linda Pollitt, Director of Studies, Learning Curve
http://www.learningcurve-uk.com
To try a free short gardening course visit:
[http://www.onthecurve.co.uk]
For more gardening articles visit The Garden School:
http://www.gardenschool.eu
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Pollitt
"We share our small garden with birds, frogs, toads, hedgehogs and even the odd fox. Nothing quite beats the magic of breakfast outside on a sunny morning, watching the birds feed, squabble and sing."
Jane Davies.
The past 100 years have seen the loss of some of our most precious habitats. Ecologist Janice Crook explains "Estimates vary widely, but it seems that since 1945 we have lost something like 50% of our ancient woodland, and 95% of our flower-rich meadows." Little wonder then that many of our most loved wild animal species have also declined dramatically. Even once common species such as tree sparrows are at risk - these lively garden visitors are now on the RSPB's red data list for endangered species.
Even tiny wildlife areas can help to stem the decline by providing a safe home for native plants and animals. It might seem that one small garden cannot make a difference to such a huge problem, but with around fifteen million private gardens in Britain , covering up to three million acres of land, gardeners really can make a difference. If even a fraction of these gardeners gave some of their land over to wildlife habitat they could provide many new homes for our most endangered species. Gardens have special value because they are arranged into networks of green space, often going into the very hearts of our largest cities, and forming safe 'wildlife corridors' along which animals and plants can travel.
As our farmland and other natural areas continue to be degraded or developed, gardens will become ever more important as wildlife refuges.
A Wildlife Food Supply
If you have the space, select a range of plants that can supply different types of food throughout the year. The following guidelines will help you to maximise the amount of pollen and nectar available in your garden:
plant a range of species that flower at different times of the year;
include some early flowering plants, as early spring is a critical time for many insects;
include plenty of species where the nectar and pollen is available near the surface of the flower;
select simple flowers where the pollen and nectar are easy for insect visitors to reach - avoid double flowers and others that are difficult for insects to tackle. Also be aware that some garden flowers are sterile.
What To Do
Small changes can make a tremendous difference to the amount of wildlife attracted into your garden. For instance, by incorporating native plants carrying scented flowers, seeds and berries you can attract birds, bees, butterflies, and many other desirable animals, as well as predatory insects such as ladybirds. Butterflies, moths and songbirds feed mainly on nectar, pollen and seed. Bees too are attracted by nectar.
You can incorporate 'food' plants throughout the garden or perhaps plan a 'service station border' which contains a mixture of flowering and fruiting shrubs, herbaceous perennials and colourful bedding plants, all chosen to provide food for wildlife. If you only have a small window box select beautiful flowering annuals to attract bees and butterflies, as well as brightening up a window sill.
The following list shows some of the most successful border flowers and shrubs offering pollen, nectar and seeds, but remember that wildflowers can be important too.
Garden plants to look out for include: Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), winter aconite (Earanthus hyemalis), elephant's ears (Bergenia cordifolia), anenome (Anenome blanda), polyanthus (Primula vulgaris elatior), honesty (Lunaria biennis), sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis), forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.), leopard's bane (Doronicum pardalianches), sweet william (Dianthus barbatus), shasta daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum), cranesbill (Geranium spp.), sweet bergamot (Monarda didyma), oriental poppy (Papaver orentiale), valerian (Centranthus ruber), angelica (Angelica archangelica), lovage (Levesticum officinale), yarrow (Achillea filipendulina), hollyhock (Alcea rosa), snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), teasel (Dipsacus fullonum), mint (Mentha rotundifolia), meadow saffron (Colchium autumnale).
Wildflowers that are particularly good as a source of nectar or seeds include: lesser burdock (Articum minus), hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), field scabious (Knautia arvensis), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), woody nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), betony (Stachys officinalis), and hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica).
Shrubs to attract wildlife include: Buddleia (Buddleia spp.), Chaenomeles japonica, Pyracantha coccinea, Amelanchier canadensis, Cotoneaster frigida, Viburnum tinus, Viburnum bodnantense, Mahonia spp., Cytisus scoparius (broom), and shrub roses of all kinds.
In addition, where possible incorporate native tree and shrub species, such as hawthorn, guelder rose, and elder in the UK, as these are particularly attractive to native insects and birds.
Linda Pollitt, Director of Studies, Learning Curve
http://www.learningcurve-uk.com
To try a free short gardening course visit:
[http://www.onthecurve.co.uk]
For more gardening articles visit The Garden School:
http://www.gardenschool.eu
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Pollitt
Worried About Garden Pests? Why Not Let Nature Do The Work!
Gardening can be a fun and relaxing hobby but if you have to constantly be worried about garden pests damaging your plants became soon turned into a source of stress.
Dumping harsh chemicals on your plants is not good for you or the environment but luckily there is a better way. You can encourage natural predators into your garden that will soon eliminate these pesky pests. These natural creatures can live in harmony in your garden where they will eat the pests that are harming your plants.
Here are some natural predators and how you might encourage them to take up residence in your garden.
Frogs
What would a garden be without some frogs and toads? They are likely attracted to your garden as it is, but you can add a few elements to attract even more of them. Since frogs and toads love water you might think of installing a garden pond, or at the very least a small water feature low to the ground that they can breed in. They will thank you by helping to control small insects and slugs.
Lady Bugs
Ladybugs love to eat aphids so you want to attract as many of them as you can into your garden. You probably recognize them as an adult with a red and black dotted shells but you might not easily recognize the lava which is gray in color with orange dots. Don't mistake the larva for a past as these lover can chow down more aphids than the adults. Ladybugs like Cosmos, scented geraniums and even dandelions so be sure to have plenty of those in your garden.
Ground Beetles
Ground beetles like to make their home under stones or leaf covers and sleep all day coming out at night to feed on garden pests. They have quite an appetite Emil Chow down slugs, snails, cutworms and leather jackets and the lava or egg stage. Some will even climb up in the trees to get a good meal and can eat gypsy moth and tent caterpillars. you can encourage these as you garden are providing permanent plantings for them to live under, loose leaf cover or small stones.
Birds
Who doesn't want birds in their garden? While these might be considered pests for some vegetables they can also read your garden of pests such as caterpillars, grubbs, slugs and aphids which they feed on. have a little bird bath in your garden as well as some nesting boxes to encourage birds into the garden where they might see a tasty grub they might want to feast on.
Lacewings
Lacewings, or the larva of lace wings feed on aphids and small soft bodied pests. To attract bees, make sure you have a water source and plant lots of nectar and pollen flowers as they like to lay their eggs underneath the leaves of these plants.
With a little bit of strategic planning, you can attract these predators into your garden which will not only help control the pests but will also add interest to the garden. Plus, it's a lot more fun to plant particular flowers and put out sources of water to attract birds, beetles and frogs into your garden than it is to drag out the sprayer hose and douse your garden with chemicals! Not only will you be getting rid of pests on your plants, you'll also be providing a food source for the predators and keeping the environment free of chemicals!
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.backyard-garden-and-patio.com where you can learn more about gardening and growing lush garden flowers.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins
Dumping harsh chemicals on your plants is not good for you or the environment but luckily there is a better way. You can encourage natural predators into your garden that will soon eliminate these pesky pests. These natural creatures can live in harmony in your garden where they will eat the pests that are harming your plants.
Here are some natural predators and how you might encourage them to take up residence in your garden.
Frogs
What would a garden be without some frogs and toads? They are likely attracted to your garden as it is, but you can add a few elements to attract even more of them. Since frogs and toads love water you might think of installing a garden pond, or at the very least a small water feature low to the ground that they can breed in. They will thank you by helping to control small insects and slugs.
Lady Bugs
Ladybugs love to eat aphids so you want to attract as many of them as you can into your garden. You probably recognize them as an adult with a red and black dotted shells but you might not easily recognize the lava which is gray in color with orange dots. Don't mistake the larva for a past as these lover can chow down more aphids than the adults. Ladybugs like Cosmos, scented geraniums and even dandelions so be sure to have plenty of those in your garden.
Ground Beetles
Ground beetles like to make their home under stones or leaf covers and sleep all day coming out at night to feed on garden pests. They have quite an appetite Emil Chow down slugs, snails, cutworms and leather jackets and the lava or egg stage. Some will even climb up in the trees to get a good meal and can eat gypsy moth and tent caterpillars. you can encourage these as you garden are providing permanent plantings for them to live under, loose leaf cover or small stones.
Birds
Who doesn't want birds in their garden? While these might be considered pests for some vegetables they can also read your garden of pests such as caterpillars, grubbs, slugs and aphids which they feed on. have a little bird bath in your garden as well as some nesting boxes to encourage birds into the garden where they might see a tasty grub they might want to feast on.
Lacewings
Lacewings, or the larva of lace wings feed on aphids and small soft bodied pests. To attract bees, make sure you have a water source and plant lots of nectar and pollen flowers as they like to lay their eggs underneath the leaves of these plants.
With a little bit of strategic planning, you can attract these predators into your garden which will not only help control the pests but will also add interest to the garden. Plus, it's a lot more fun to plant particular flowers and put out sources of water to attract birds, beetles and frogs into your garden than it is to drag out the sprayer hose and douse your garden with chemicals! Not only will you be getting rid of pests on your plants, you'll also be providing a food source for the predators and keeping the environment free of chemicals!
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.backyard-garden-and-patio.com where you can learn more about gardening and growing lush garden flowers.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Why We Should Make Changes For Environmental Issues We Don't Understand - A Story of Cornish Flowers
It seems no matter where you go now days you can't escape the fact that things are changing in the environment. A lot of people appear to be constantly talking about global warming and the damage we are doing to the world by driving our cars or leaving a light on for longer than needed. For the most part, I agree. I personally haven't done anywhere near enough research of my own to come to a solid conclusion on where I stand on the issue. I don't completely understand some of the terms bounded around, and beside, science thought the world was flat not that long ago so I don't want to rely to strongly on it. This is complicated more by the amount of theories about the causes of global warming that seem to rely on the earth being millions of years old, when I personally believe in a young earth, but that's a whole other story. My lack of knowledge put aside, I think anything 'greener' or 'pollution-free' or 'recyclable' has got to be a good thing.
I got my first part time job when I was 16 at a Flower Nursery about 8 miles from where I lived, a medium sized company that buy/sell flowers in all ways you can imagine located in Cornwall. I remember a year or so back mentioning global warming to them and the fact that some of their flowers were imported, via either aeroplane or ship, often from places like Holland. I couldn't understand all the reasons why. Surely customers would rather buy flowers that are locally grown, freshly cut from the greenhouse for their order. Or would customers rather have flowers that are mass-grown in a different country, bundled into a box, driven to the dock, loaded into a container, shipped to the UK, unloaded, driven to the dispatch point, then moved into a small lorry and driven down to the nursery where they are unpacked and bundled up ready for their order? I know what makes more sense to me.
Having spoken to some more florists about the issue, it became apparent the reason no one was really making an effort to change was that a large chunk of consumers simply weren't aware of the issue, so it didn't affect business! Importing has become common practice among florists and it's often barely cheaper, if cheaper at all. The obvious conclusion from this in my mind was that we should make consumers aware, and offer what they'd rather have, locally grown flowers. This not only means better quality flowers and less pollution to the environment, but would also support the local economy a lot more. I mentioned to my work the idea of 'Flower Miles', a simple indicator to let customers know that the flowers are local (or not local as the case may be). Eventually they implemented my idea on their website and guess what? It was a success. They had a lot of good feedback and I believe it's still there to this day.
The reason I like telling people that story is the employees at the nursery were a bit like me when it came to knowledge on global warming. They didn't know much, but knew that anything that supports the local community and reduces carbon emmisions by cutting out a large chunk of transport has got to be a good thing, and their customers agree.
I really love Cornwall. It was where I was raised as a child and I have fond memories of going to the beach, biking all over the local woods and just generally enjoying the countryside around me. The thought that I could be playing my small part in damaging this for future generations doesn't sit well with me, but it's not always easy to change things straight away. For example, my house doesn't have solar panels, we can't afford them, so I don't feel bad about it. But I could walk into town rather than driving my car a few miles, so i try to.
My message is simple really. A lot of people talk about global warming. No one really understands what's going on, but we can't afford to be ignorant. Besides, even if global warming turned out to be a myth, I don't think anyone would regret the steps they took to making the world a better place.
Martin Falkus
Interested in the Flowers by Post [http://www.flowersbyclowance.co.uk] concept? Clowance Nurseries are one of the leading suppliers in Cornish Flowers.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Falkus
I got my first part time job when I was 16 at a Flower Nursery about 8 miles from where I lived, a medium sized company that buy/sell flowers in all ways you can imagine located in Cornwall. I remember a year or so back mentioning global warming to them and the fact that some of their flowers were imported, via either aeroplane or ship, often from places like Holland. I couldn't understand all the reasons why. Surely customers would rather buy flowers that are locally grown, freshly cut from the greenhouse for their order. Or would customers rather have flowers that are mass-grown in a different country, bundled into a box, driven to the dock, loaded into a container, shipped to the UK, unloaded, driven to the dispatch point, then moved into a small lorry and driven down to the nursery where they are unpacked and bundled up ready for their order? I know what makes more sense to me.
Having spoken to some more florists about the issue, it became apparent the reason no one was really making an effort to change was that a large chunk of consumers simply weren't aware of the issue, so it didn't affect business! Importing has become common practice among florists and it's often barely cheaper, if cheaper at all. The obvious conclusion from this in my mind was that we should make consumers aware, and offer what they'd rather have, locally grown flowers. This not only means better quality flowers and less pollution to the environment, but would also support the local economy a lot more. I mentioned to my work the idea of 'Flower Miles', a simple indicator to let customers know that the flowers are local (or not local as the case may be). Eventually they implemented my idea on their website and guess what? It was a success. They had a lot of good feedback and I believe it's still there to this day.
The reason I like telling people that story is the employees at the nursery were a bit like me when it came to knowledge on global warming. They didn't know much, but knew that anything that supports the local community and reduces carbon emmisions by cutting out a large chunk of transport has got to be a good thing, and their customers agree.
I really love Cornwall. It was where I was raised as a child and I have fond memories of going to the beach, biking all over the local woods and just generally enjoying the countryside around me. The thought that I could be playing my small part in damaging this for future generations doesn't sit well with me, but it's not always easy to change things straight away. For example, my house doesn't have solar panels, we can't afford them, so I don't feel bad about it. But I could walk into town rather than driving my car a few miles, so i try to.
My message is simple really. A lot of people talk about global warming. No one really understands what's going on, but we can't afford to be ignorant. Besides, even if global warming turned out to be a myth, I don't think anyone would regret the steps they took to making the world a better place.
Martin Falkus
Interested in the Flowers by Post [http://www.flowersbyclowance.co.uk] concept? Clowance Nurseries are one of the leading suppliers in Cornish Flowers.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Falkus
Computer Recycling For Environmental Issues
The IT production industry has a Large Carbon footprint, which can be reduced through the re-use and re-deployment of redundant IT equipment namely Computer Recycling.
We're all aware of the impact our use of scarce resources is having on the environment.
Two years ago saw a sudden and prolonged increase in the price of steel, copper and gold. These were brought about mainly by the rapid and somewhat unexpected growth in the Chinese economy. Why should this have any effect upon the recycling of computers you might ask? Depletion of non re-newable resources leaves only two options, find a new material (very expensive) or find a way to recycle and extract the old. With the Price of gold hitting $400 per troy ounce, it suddenly became extremely viable for recyclers, such as our selves to market our services. There's been a very big boom in computer recycling over the past year.
Most of the environmental concerns with computers lie with the monitor, specifically its cathode ray tube (CRT). Each color monitor contains, on average, four to five pounds of lead, considered hazardous waste when disposed of. Computers also contain other hazardous materials, including mercury, cadmium (a known carcinogen), and hexavalent chromium (shown to cause high blood pressure, iron-poor blood, liver disease, and nerve and brain damage in animals). Over 314 million computers were thrown away at the end of 2007, containing 1.2 billion pounds of lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 1.2 million pounds of hexavalent chromium, and 400,000 pounds of mercury.
Part of the problem computer recycling has is, after upgrading computer systems, most organizations store their old computers, which serve as backup equipment in case newer computers break down. These old computers often sit in storage well beyond their potential useful life. At some point, a decision must be made about disposal of this equipment. Continuing to store it is often not a viable option, it eventually takes up a considerable amount of space. The least desirable option is to throw old computers into the bin. Computer recycling comes to the fore in every scenario possible, not just the effect it has upon the environment, there is also the possibility of someone removing hard drives and recovering sensitive data.
A number of factors have led to an upsurge of interest in people wanting to recycle old computer kit, including growing awareness around environmental issues, as well as the recent introduction in the UK of the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive. (1 - June - 2006)
At the time of first writing this article the BBC News website had an excellent article about identity theft and the disposal / recycling of old computers and I quote from that article "Bank account details belonging to thousands of Britons are being sold in West Africa for less than £20 each, the BBC's Real Story program has found.
It discovered that fraudsters in Nigeria were able to find internet banking data stored on recycled PCs sent from the UK to Africa."
This drives home the point that you should destroy the data on your hard disk - before getting rid of the computer or hard disk in it. Computer recycling, isn't always about the environment, but of company and national safety importance too.
From an environmental point of view it is far better to recycle your computer at an official recycling center than to dispose of it. It may even be illegal in some countries to dispose of electrical equipment by any other method other than by taking it to an approved computer recycling center or sending it back to the original manufacturer.
John Pettifer is managing director of a computer recycling company Recycling-IT. Due to his concern in environmental issues. http://recycling-it.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Pettifer
We're all aware of the impact our use of scarce resources is having on the environment.
Two years ago saw a sudden and prolonged increase in the price of steel, copper and gold. These were brought about mainly by the rapid and somewhat unexpected growth in the Chinese economy. Why should this have any effect upon the recycling of computers you might ask? Depletion of non re-newable resources leaves only two options, find a new material (very expensive) or find a way to recycle and extract the old. With the Price of gold hitting $400 per troy ounce, it suddenly became extremely viable for recyclers, such as our selves to market our services. There's been a very big boom in computer recycling over the past year.
Most of the environmental concerns with computers lie with the monitor, specifically its cathode ray tube (CRT). Each color monitor contains, on average, four to five pounds of lead, considered hazardous waste when disposed of. Computers also contain other hazardous materials, including mercury, cadmium (a known carcinogen), and hexavalent chromium (shown to cause high blood pressure, iron-poor blood, liver disease, and nerve and brain damage in animals). Over 314 million computers were thrown away at the end of 2007, containing 1.2 billion pounds of lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 1.2 million pounds of hexavalent chromium, and 400,000 pounds of mercury.
Part of the problem computer recycling has is, after upgrading computer systems, most organizations store their old computers, which serve as backup equipment in case newer computers break down. These old computers often sit in storage well beyond their potential useful life. At some point, a decision must be made about disposal of this equipment. Continuing to store it is often not a viable option, it eventually takes up a considerable amount of space. The least desirable option is to throw old computers into the bin. Computer recycling comes to the fore in every scenario possible, not just the effect it has upon the environment, there is also the possibility of someone removing hard drives and recovering sensitive data.
A number of factors have led to an upsurge of interest in people wanting to recycle old computer kit, including growing awareness around environmental issues, as well as the recent introduction in the UK of the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive. (1 - June - 2006)
At the time of first writing this article the BBC News website had an excellent article about identity theft and the disposal / recycling of old computers and I quote from that article "Bank account details belonging to thousands of Britons are being sold in West Africa for less than £20 each, the BBC's Real Story program has found.
It discovered that fraudsters in Nigeria were able to find internet banking data stored on recycled PCs sent from the UK to Africa."
This drives home the point that you should destroy the data on your hard disk - before getting rid of the computer or hard disk in it. Computer recycling, isn't always about the environment, but of company and national safety importance too.
From an environmental point of view it is far better to recycle your computer at an official recycling center than to dispose of it. It may even be illegal in some countries to dispose of electrical equipment by any other method other than by taking it to an approved computer recycling center or sending it back to the original manufacturer.
John Pettifer is managing director of a computer recycling company Recycling-IT. Due to his concern in environmental issues. http://recycling-it.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Pettifer
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