YAHOO’s Green New Home for Computing

10 months ago YAHOO completed work on a big green new home in Lockport, New York housing 50,000 servers for the high traffic web company.  The appropriately named Yahoo Computing Coop (YCC) is modeled and designed based on a simple chicken coop idea and subsequently is about as green as computer server buildings come.

Just how green is the YCC? It uses over 99% natural cooler-system free air and doesn’t use any air chillers; it also uses less than 1% of the total consumed energy on cooling.  The facility uses 40% less water than conventional server facilities.  The location of the coop is also allows it to use clean hydroelectricity from Niagara Falls.   The YCC maintains a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio of 1.08 while the industry standard PUE is 2.0.

The chicken coop design is capable of providing naturally cooler air due to a few specific choices and some basic physics.  First, the building is angled to take advantage of natural wind to focus and funnel the air currents.  Next, the location provides ample days each year with preferred weather to keep temperatures cool.  Finally, the building is designed to maximize air flow by its shape, length, and structure.

The big energy efficient server home is a win-win situation for Yahoo.  Not only does the company save money on lower energy bills and the general cost of the building itself, but it is also legitimately better for the environment and substantially lest wasteful.  The company saves big by not having to build/buy massive cooling systems that use outrageous amounts of water as well.

All-in-all this is a great move for YAHOO.  They are lowering their environmental impact, helping their bottom line, and making a big difference for their potential customers who value being green!

Solar Chargers: The Way of the Future

A great way to stay green while still using the worlds amazing technology is by using solar chargers. If you have priced one out before you may know that they are pricey items and may not be at the top of your shopping list every month because of this. If this is something that interests you but you have money issues, check out a homemade solar charger recipe.

Instructables has step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own solar charger. There is also ways of extending your battery life that you can combine with solar charging to get the most of this experience.  There are other ways to stay green and still charge your phone. Wind-powered, kinetic fuel cell and other chargers are great alternatives if you are looking outside the solar field.

If you are one of those people that are ready to move into the solar field, check out the number of options from these amazing companies.

SolarGorilla From PowerTraveller

Power: 10 Watts

Where: EarthTech Products

How Much: $250

Solio Charger From Solio

Power: 0.6 Watts

Where: Solio

How Much: $50

SolarRoll 4.5 From Brunton

Power: 4.5 to 14 Watts depending on the size of the roll

Where: Brunton

How Much: 4.5 Watt roll (all you’ll need for hand-held devices) is $295

Solaris 26 From Brunton

Power: 26 Watts

Where: Brunton

How Much: $620

Voltaic Backpack From Voltaic Systems

Power: 4 Watts

Where: Voltaic Systems

How much: $250

Composting: Important or Not?

Most people understand that composting is a part of being green and sustainable. But if you asked them the reasons that it is important and the ways that it is beneficial to the environment, they don’t always know what to say. They may do the math and think that food that gets thrown away in the trash gets to the landfill and there gets composted on its own. And here they basically come to the conclusion that composting food is a waste of their energy. Wrong.

If and when food does biodegrade in a landfill, what comes of that biodegrading process does not benefit anything and even if it could, it would be contaminated otherwise by the elements surrounding it in the landfill. Usually people that compost food use the end product as a fertilizer, sometimes called “black gold”, an ultra plant healthy nutrient mix that naturally occurs and is created through the composting process.

Another consideration is that organic matter or food in this case, does not always break down in the same way. Bacteria have different ways of decomposing or digesting  its hosts. When in a landfill, things get buried and the environment surrounding the food becomes airless, therefore creating what is called an anaerobic decomposition. This kind of decomposition releases CO2, and methane– which are both powerful greenhouse gasses as we all know.

So next time you are rethinking your decision whether or not to compost your food, or even if you need to brush up on the info for friends who just don’t understand: composting is a vital part of our ecosystem and isn’t wasted energy but in fact the saving of it.

60 Minutes for the Planet: Participate in Earth Hour 2010 on March 27

Organic Bug alert!  At 8:30 pm (your local time) tomorrow- Saturday March 27- millions will be turning off their lights to make a statement about climate change during Earth Hour. Please join this powerful movement by spreading the word and sharing the video below!  This is so simple and has such an enormous impact on the future of our planet!

What is Earth Hour? Earth Hour is World Wildlife Fund’s global initiative where individuals, schools, organizations, businesses and governments turn off their lights for one hour to cast a vote in favor of action on climate change. By voting with their light switches, Earth Hour participants send a powerful, visual message demanding action on climate change. Last year, nearly one billion people participated in 87 countries on seven continents and exercised their vote for change.