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So
where do these electronic relics go to retire? Between 2003 and 2005, as much
as 85 percent of the disposed electronics in the U.S. went straight in the trash and
headed directly to local landfills or incinerators [source: EPA].
Worldwide, as much as 50 million tons of old electronics are discarded annually
[source: Carroll].

Some
of you may be thinking, “So what? All my other garbage goes to the
landfill, why not my old computer?” But let’s think back to what we
touched on briefly on the previous page — the potentially lethal chemical
combination that could seriously harm the environment if not properly handled.

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on the region on the left. You may then go directly to your local group by clicking on “Go To” or you may immediately joining by clicking on “Join.” It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works. Can’t find a group near you? You might want to consider starting one (click on “Start a Group” for instructions). Have fun!

LG Electronics has partnered with Waste Management Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary WM Recycle America, LLC, to establish the LG Electronics Recycling Program. Waste Management will act as the collection, transportation and recycling contractor for the national LG Electronics Recycling Program. The LG Electronics Recycling Program provides consumers with a free and convenient way of recycling their used, unwanted, obsolete or damaged LG consumer electronic products by dropping them off at a designated Waste Management eCycling Center. Waste Management currently has 160 designated drop-off sites across the United States and plans to have at least one drop-off site in each State by September 2008; the number of sites will continue to be expanded over time.

Last night’s House vote against an amendment that would make Net Neutrality enforceable is the result of swarming lobbyists and a multi-million-dollar media campaign by telephone companies that want Congress to hand them control of the Internet.

The fight now moves to the Senate, where there is stronger bi-partisan support for a bill — put forth by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) — that would protect our Internet freedom from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth.

Our grass-roots coalition includes more than 720 groups, 5,000 bloggers and 800,000 individuals who have rallied in support of net neutrality at www.savetheinternet.com. The coalition is left and right, public and private, commercial and noncommercial.

Senators can expect to hear from their constituents on their responsibility to protect Net Neutrality and we will be watching closely to make sure they listen.

HP collaborates with XE on improved solar power

With so many improvements already being shown in solar cell technology, the collaboration between Hewlett Packard (HP) and Xtreme Energetics (XE) to improve photo voltaic efficiency by 100% would appear to be bravado.

Not only do the companies expect to improve the efficiency but they also expect the improved solar cells to be more cost effective than current solar cells.  How do they plan on accomplishing this feat?

Well,  XE specializes in solar energy systems and HP has transparent transistor technology. XE will be licensing HP’s technology to create what XE calls “Solar with Style”.

Hp uses thin film technology in its transistors utilizing zinc and tin which are readily available and inexpensive.  XE is prepared to license that technology and use it in its concentration and tracking system.  The clear transistors will allow more light to get through thereby increasing the efficiency of the solar panels.

Participants invited to solve environmental issues

Written by Ian Williams

The government-funded Grid Computing Now network has kicked of a competition
which invites participants to help solve environmental issues through grid
computing.

Well known examples include the Folding@Home project which utilises the idle
power of PCs and PlayStation 3s to help with cancer research.

The ‘Grid Computing for a Greener Planet’ competition is supported by
Microsoft, Intellect, the British Computer Society, 451 Group, Memset, the
National e-Science Centre, Oxford e-Research Centre, WWF and The Technology
Strategy Board.

• A one-year membership to the BCS
• An industry mentor to help the winner progress their idea
• A week-long internship at the National e-Science Centre at the University of
  Edinburgh
• A Sony Vaio or Microsoft Xbox 360
• A one-year limited subscription to The 451 Group’s EcoEfficient and Grid
  services research

Coming Soon: Pirate TV Show

Jesse Alexander, the executive producer of the popular TV-shows ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lost’ and Matt Mason, author of ‘The Pirate’s Dilemma’, are working on a new TV-show about piracy. The show will be based on Matt’s book, and will show how important pirates are for today’s society.

Matt recently told us that he has been working on turning the book into a TV show with Jesse Alexander, the Executive Producer of the popular TV-shows Heroes and Lost. “It all happened a few months back when I was in LA talking to Disney, Matt told TorrentFreak, adding “We are trying to get this made into a 13-part TV show.”

You can find Matt’s articles on TorrentFreak here. Also, his book “The Pirate’s Dilemma” is now available as a free download, if you don’t want to pirate a copy.

Stop Internet Blocking and Censorship for Good

Big phone and cable companies like Comcast and Verizon want to tell the public when to stop and go on the Internet. But our online movements shouldn’t be controlled by gatekeepers.

Tell Congress to support the Internet
Freedom Preservation Act 2008 (HR 5353) to stop Internet blocking and protect Net Neutrality.

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