Back in the old days, when a 40 megabyte, 12 mega-hertz 286 computer cost $6,000 and was considered a SUPER-computer - I'm sure my family weren't the only ones who had one - the computer screen was generally black while you typed in manual commands at the MS-DOS prompt.
But some genius decided that eye-strain is a good thing and that it would be better to have a wide panel of light beaming light through the interface of our eyes to project and burn any information directly onto our brains like a laser. Of course such a process requires much more electricity, it requires much more power.
An article on Treehugger.com suggests that a black Google would save 750 megawatt-hours a year. A megawatt-hour is the equivalent of ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for 1 hour. It is so easy for you to make a difference, so I urge you all to also go black!
Simply change your internet homepage to Black Google. At the top of your screen, click on Tools, then Internet Options and then type the website below into the box:
http://black-google.blogspot.com/
With the world-wide total of active coal plants over 50,000 and rising it has been estimated that fossil fuels will account for 85% of the energy market by 2030. We have a serious problem - whether you like to admit it or not. Already, the world's glaciers are massively receding, hurricanes are becoming more frequent and more intense, and temperatures are getting to extremes. A few days ago I learned that two years ago it snowed in Buenos Aires!
You may be right in saying that one person can not make a direct difference, but it's not your actions that will make the difference but your psychology. It means that you love this beautiful planet we inhabit and that we are privileged to experience life on. It means you respect it enough to care for it and protect it for the generations that follow - i.e for your children.
It is probably the politicians that will decide the fate of our planet. It is their head-space which needs to change. But if there are enough people in a following, the politicians will inevitably follow suit. If a message is loud enough, people in the highest places will eventually hear.
Be a shepherd, not a sheep.
Here is a photo to help guilt you into the decision:
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I must apologise to my dear brother for bringing up painful memories of our old 286 computer, which we actually how to slow down to play Double Dragon. Sometimes, I wake up in a cold sweat screaming, "Device speed 4!"
