Choose a Greener Computer

Find additional tools and tips for greening your nonprofit through TechSoup's GreenTech Initiative, where social benefit organizations can share and learn more about technology choices that can help to reduce our overall impact on the environment.

Are you harming vital organs while saving the world? It's possible if you are working on environmentally unfriendly computer equipment.

Fortunately, a new online tool can help ensure that your next computer is less toxic for you and the environment.

The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) ― a project of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Green Electronics Council ― can help you evaluate the environmental friendliness of more than 500 models of computers.

The EPEAT Web site offers easy-to-use search tools to allow you to see how your computer stacks up. You can see immediately how your machine is rated for categories including materials selection; design for end of life; and energy conservation.

In the meantime, what components should you watch out for when it comes time to upgrade? A recent article in Portland Monthly magazine gets the scoop from GEC Director Jeff Omelchuck. Here is an excerpt:

LEAD
Why it's bad: Can severely damage the brain and kidneys.
Where it's found: Solder on circuit boards, monitor glass in cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays.
How to avoid it: Opt for liquid crystal display (LCD) that doesn't use fluorescent lights.

MERCURY
Why it's bad: Can damage the brain, kidneys, and lungs.
Where it's found: Back lights that illuminate laptop and LCD monitors.
How to avoid it: Some new screens, such as Apple's MacBook Pro, use LED (light-emitting diode) technology, which is mercury-free.

CADMIUM
Why it's bad: Harms the lungs, irritates the stomach and may cause kidney disease.
Where it's found: Coating for internal steel parts.
How to avoid it: Find a bronze-rated EPEAT machine, which has no more than a tenth of a percent by weight of cadmium.

CHROMIUM VI
Why it's bad: Causes ulcers and holes in the nasal septum.
Where it's found: Corrosion-inhibiting coating for connectors and screws inside a computer.
How to avoid it: Any material used in a computer rated EPEAT bronze contains no more than a tenth of a percent by weight of chromiuim VI.

Has your organiztion taken environmental concerns into consideration when making computer purchases? Share your "greeen"-ing tips with others in our community forums.