5.9 BILLION: The amount in U.S. dollars it would cost to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool with ink
8 MILLION: The amount in tons of office paper the U.S. used in 2004. That equals roughly 178 million trees.
10 THOUSAND: The number of pages per year the average U.S. office worker prints
SOURCE: GREENPRINT TECHNOLOGIES (WWW.PRINTGREENER.COM)
These days, going green takes less work (and is cheaper) than you might think. Companies such as Oregon-based Greenprint Technologies (www.printgreener.com), provide not just better printing options, but consumer education. The company’s Greenprint software is a patent-pending technology designed to help users eliminate printing waste. The software also lets you print in PDF format and even uses a font developed to reduce paper and ink use.
To help save power, the Smart Strip Surge Protector by BITS Ltd. allows users to plug up to 10 devices into one energy-efficient unit. The strip has an auto-switch feature, which turns off equipment simultaneously. (For more BITS products, head to www.chooserenewables.com).
Belgium-based eco-tech company United Pepper (www.unitedpepper.org), has created technology solutions that are based on fair-trade cooperation with developing nations. One of the company’s flagship products is Oscar, a starfish-shaped USB 2.0 hub composed of paperboard, cotton, and kapok-even its packaging is made from recycled materials. Oscar has four downstream ports that can transfer data up to 480 Mbps; it also works with Windows and Mac operating systems.