About

We’re all busy. Maybe you’ve thought about trying to live “greener”, but it just seems like there is never time to learn about how to do it. This is the place to find out how.

There are so many ways you can begin to vote with your wallet, and buy more eco-friendly products. The more we collectively cast our votes by what we purchase, the “louder” our voices will be. The market follows demand, pure and simple.

So, thanks for dropping by my blog. I’m Lauren and I’m the voice behind the posts. This blog has been a labor of love, and a long time in coming.

I used to be pretty oblivious to all things environmental. For years, my idea of being a good environmentalist was setting out my recycled trash each week, and using “dye and perfume free” laundry soap. But hey, I’m not knocking that, you have to start somewhere.

My own evolution occurred in a roundabout way: I was researching raw vegan recipes to incorporate into my diet, and ended up watching several documentaries recommended to me that made me aware of just how hard on the environment the meat industry is. But that’s for another blog…  Suffice it to say, I began to slowly make changes in my personal life that gravitated me towards a much more eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. Am I perfect? No way. I’m in process. And that’s the tone of this blog. I won’t ever (I hope) be preachy, but always attempt to meet you where you are now.

Secondarily, I have worked for the last five years as a publisher. A great deal of what I do ends up online. I became aware of some hosting companies “going green” and wondered what all that was about. It wasn’t until I read an article in Information Week, that I truly understood the staggering impact the internet has on energy consumption. According to the article:

In the United States the power consumption in 2005 for servers and related equipment in data centers was equivalent to about five 1,000-megawatt power plants, or your five typical nuclear or coal power plants… Worldwide, the electricity consumption for the servers was equivalent to 14 power plants.

Just to put it in perspective, a 1000-megawatt power plant can provide electricity for a city the size of Seattle! If you think about how much carbon a coal plant pours into the atmosphere (about 2,000 pounds!) per mega-watt hour, you can start to get an idea of the impact the internet has on the environment.

When I found out that depending on size, web hosting companies generate as much carbon dioxide as 400 to 600 average-size homes, I began to use green web hosting exclusively and recommending it to my friends and clients too. I wanted to give back and use my energy in a responsible way. It naturally extended to the websites I built too.

It’s time to make easy commitments (by just choosing who we do business with) to neutralize the massive carbon footprint from computers! I’m a big believer in “voting with my wallet.” (Yeah, I think I already mentioned that!)

The impact of the sheer computing power needed to “run” the internet cannot be denied. That’s why you’ll see an emphasis here on green web hosting. It’s my goal to convince you to move your sites to green companies! In fact, this site is hosted by a company that uses 100% solar power.

So, the goal for this blog is to basically provide lots of tips, suggestions and product ideas, to show you how easy it is to be green, or at least greener. I’ll also blog about my own progress as well. I’m putting a rating system on all my reviews, in the hopes that if you’ve used the product, you might add your experiences, and if not, that it may help you in deciding if you want to try it out.

If you have any ideas for reviews or topics, please let me know using our contact form!

To greener pastures,

lauren {at} greenlivingtips {dot} com