Did technology make us green without us even realizing it? I suggest that it did in many ways. Of course, it probably made us less green too, but that is a subject for another post on another day. Here are some technological ways that we became green without even realizing that it happened:
Programmable Thermostats: When programmable thermostats became popular, the ability to save anywhere from $250 to $500 per year in electric or gas costs became possible. Most people don't even realize that these handy little gadgets have made us much greener as a nation.
LED Lights - LED lights save big bucks when used in place of conventional lights. LED stands for light-emitting diode bulbs. Many cities across the nation began switching our incandescent lights for LED lights back in the 1990s. Denver began switching their traffic lights to LED and claim that they will save $800,000 per year. That is a huge savings of mainly energy and labor costs and will save almost 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year too. Plus, those savings are for one city. Imagine the savings when multiplied over the hundreds and thousands of other cities and towns that could do the same thing that Denver did.
Direct Deposit - This is probably one of the coolest technological advances that made us greener without ever realizing it. In the 1980s, a massive amount of companies began using direct deposit and it saved millions of gallons of fuel that it takes to print and use paper checks. Additionally, over 3 million tons of carbon dioxide are saved each year. There are still about one-third of the companies in America who do not utilize direct deposit so the savings could be even better.
There are other ways that technology has made us greener but these three are among the best in my opinion. Do you have any to add? If you do, please email me at bruce@bruzzbuzz.com.
