Our Environment

Link Exchange - Webmasters helping webmasters develop high value relevant links. Promoting ethical web-marketing using the time trusted pillars of relevance and popularity.

Birds123.com, Everything About Birds - Birds123.com is about attracting wild birds to your yard (bird houses, bird feeders, hummingbirds), pet birds (including parrots and parakeets), birding and bird watching, photographing birds, and controlling nuisance birds like crows, pigeons and starlings.

Many computer and software manufacturers have made great strides in cutting the amount of non-sustainable and toxic materials used in the development of their products. Unfortunately the developer of your favorite console or shooting games may not be doing their part to help the environment.

Greenpeace releases a yearly report rating technology companies and tracking their improvements in sustainable environmental practices. Many of the large companies, such as Sony and Samsung rate strongly, and continue to improve. But many companies are late to the game and will have a long struggle to catch up. Nintendo, which develops fun games such as Mario Galaxy and Wii Sports, was the first global company to ever score zero across the board.

Greenpeace Ratings

BEST

• 7.7 Sony Ericsson - New leader due to improved takeback reporting, new models PVC free, but falls down on takeback practice.
• 7.7 Samsung - Big improvements, with products free of the worst toxic chemicals. Loses points for incomplete takeback practice.
• 7.3 Sony - products free of toxic PVC and improved reporting on recycling and takeback especially in the US.
• 7.3 Dell - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals.
• 7.3 Lenovo - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals.
• 7 Toshiba - Much improved on toxic chemicals but still lobbies in the US for regressive takeback policies.
• 7 LGE - Unchanged since the last version, need better takeback for products other than phones.
• 7 Fujitsu-Siemens - Unchanged since the last version, needs toxic elimination timelines, better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled.
• 6.7 Nokia- A steep fall! Strong on toxic chemicals but penalty point deducted for deficiencies in takeback practice in Thailand, Russia and Argentina during our testing.
• 6.7 HP - Finally provided timelines for eliminating worst toxic chemicals, though not for all products; needs to improve takeback coverage.
• 6 Apple - Slightly improved with new iMacs and some iPods reducing the use of toxic chemicals, takeback program still needs work.
• 5.7 Acer - Unchanged since the last version, needs better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled.
• 5 Panasonic - Unchanged since the last version, need better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled.
• 5 Motorola - Big faller due to penalty point for poor takeback practice in Philippines, Thailand and India revealed by our testing. Still no timelines for eliminating the most harmful chemicals.
• 4.7 Sharp - New to the guide - some plus points on toxic chemicals elimination but poor takeback policy and practice.
• 2.7 Microsoft - New to the guide - long timeline for toxic chemicals elimination (2011) and poor takeback policy and practice.
• 2 Philips - New to the guide - no timeline for toxic chemicals elimination and zero points on e-waste policy and practice.
• 0 Nintendo - New to the guide - first global brand to score zero across all criteria!

Worst

Visit Greenpeace to view the Guide to Greener Electronics in its entirety.

The RFID industry, like many tech sectors, has made great efforts to "go green". The latest development is the thin-film battery for for RFID tags. RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, makes use of small RFID transponders that can be place on or in a product, person, or animal to track their location through the use of radio waves.

There are two types of RFID transponders. Passive transponders have no internal power supply and rely on the small amount of energy generated by the incoming signal to power up and respond. Active transponders are more complex and carry a small battery that gives the integrated circuits enough power to broadcast in more challenging environments, such as deep within a warehouse or inside an animal. These signals are picked up by RFID readers and then usually relayed to a database.

The new generation of thin-film batteries are made from environmentally friendly, non-toxic materials and can extend the life of RFID chips by ten fold. Previous RFID batteries only lasted up to 5 years and then the battery and transponder were of no use. Thin-film batteries can be recharged again and again eliminating waste and providing the capability to track inventory for decades.