If you need a website (and who doesn’t?) there is a green alternative to the carbon generating companies who normally provide web services.
Ecological Hosting is an ethically run family business which powers their data centre (containing the computers needed to host the web sites), with renewable energy using a solar panel array capable of generating up to sixty kilowatt-hours of electricity each day.
Every website needs to be housed on a computer which is permanently connected, 24 hours a day, to the Internet and all that time they are consuming electricity. Using a company which powers its operation with renewable energy can make a real difference.
Ecological Hosting were the first UK company to offer web hosting powered entirely by solar energy and they help run the Fair and Green website we featured yesterday. (See below)
For more details visit www.ecologicalhosting.com
Solar Powered Websites
BBC Launches Green Website
BBC Magazines, part of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation, has just launched BBCGreen.com.
Clearly they think there is a large audience on the web for more 'green' information and you will find a lot of it on the new site. They "...aim is to cut through the confusion surrounding environmental and ethical issues, and to help us live a sustainable lifestyle."
At the moment there are features on whether eco cleaning products really work, green transport and the issue of train versus plane, how green is your baby and a 60 second guide to greenhouse gases to name a few.
If you register with the site you can opt to receive a weekly e-mail full of environmental information and features. You can also set up your own action plan to reduce your carbon footprint.
The site is well laid out, easy to use and looks like it might have potential. Being part of the commercial arm of the BBC means that there is an element of cross promotion for their other 'products' and 'services' so you will find links to other green information on BBC TV and radio.
As a public corporation you don't set something up like this without doing your research and they found that a large proportion of Britain is "ethically aware, environmentally conscious", and that a sizable number of us are "conscientious consumers". However, it also showed that there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about which sources can be trusted.
See what you think at www.bbcgreen.com If you register with them before the end of May you can be in with a chance to win a trip for two to Paris.
Virtual Trees - with Eco Value
Remember the dreaded Tamagotchii?? All those disturbed children lamenting the ‘death’ of their cyber pet because they inadvertently dropped it down the side of the sofa and forgot about it?
Well the world has moved on and you can now own a virtual tree with educational value.
The Raise a Tree website is designed to help primary school children learn about trees, the environment and climate change. You register with the site, get your tree and ‘take care’ of it in its virtual growing environment. As the tree ‘grows’ various situations occur, such as natural disasters which might have an effect on its progress. The website explains that information about these ‘situations’ is provided to help the owner understand what happened. I think we are talking about when your tree dies!!
You can access your tree from any computer, so get your kids involved before you go on holiday for the summer and they can log in and keep an eye on it while you are away. The positive side is that you never have to hunt for discontinued batteries to make it work!
