Comments on: Are Web Workers Truly Green?

By: Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:01:06 +0000

[...] already “doing our bit” for climate change (although there is some debate as to whether web workers are truly green). Reducing transportation is great, but there’s still much more that you can do. Today is an [...]

By: Owen Thomas

Owen Thomas — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:27:52 +0000

An obvious set of questions: What about the paperless office? When is it justified that people should need a printer for their home office?

By: Do You Have a Bigger Carbon Footprint If You Work at the Office? | Trends Updates

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:29:03 +0000

[...] Web Worker Daily You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Related Posts: Algal [...]

By: John B

John B — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:21:00 +0000

It’s an interesting idea that could, if some government wants to throw money at it, deserve more study.

The duplicating equipment arguement could be quite strong. If, taking into account the “driving to meet friends” factor, teleworking only reduces your driving by 19%, is that 19% enough to offset the cradle-to-grave carbon emissions of a printer every 5 years and a computer every 2 or 3? We may be surprised.

By: June Langhoff

June Langhoff — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:00:36 +0000

I think that Kneale got it all wrong. The CEA study you mentioned concluded that just one day of telecommuting saves the equivalent of up to 12 hours of an average household’s electricity use. Another study, this one from Sun Microsystems, specifically explored the question of whether Open Work (Sun’s name for its flexible work program) really saves energy, or just transfers energy cost and load to employees. Researchers compared home and work energy use and calculated how much of the energy load was shifted from company to the individual. The study found that the average employee saves 5,400 Kilowatt hr/yr by working flexibly. Open Workers also saved 2.5 workweeks a year in commute time, and more than $1,700 in fuel and wear and tear on their vehicle.

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:43:47 +0000

As a telecommuter who works at home two days a week, I certainly use less gas than when I am working. As far as the Forbes article goes, when I am working, I am working — not traipsing off for a cup of coffee (its in my kitchen) or meeting up with friends (they’re working too!). I am not duplicating machinery — admittedly I do have a phone, a pc and a printer at home, but I would have and use these at home even if I were not working. Frankly except for the PC, I rarely use these items at home for work purposes. I do nearly everything online.

By: Web Workers are Green | Station Master's Journal

Web Workers are Green | Station Master's Journal — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:27:34 +0000

[...] Despite these claims, there are still some skeptics. Read more at WebWorkerDaily. [...]