![Friuch Consulting home page [logo]](wp-content/themes/friuch-branded/images/friuchconsulting.jpg)
« How Social Isolation Strikes Down The Best Of Us | Home | Rate of Black Market Cigarette Seizures Weaken Marijuana Legalization Arguments »
Virtual Wastepaper Basketball Better For Environment Than Real Thing
By crooky | August 1, 2008
It’s Friday afternoon. I have deadlines to meet but what am I doing? I’m playing a virtual wastepaper basketball game.
Check it out here. (turn off your sound if you’re at work).
While playing it, I wondered for a moment if I was saving GHG emissions by playing the virtual version of this game or if I’d be a more responsible citizen by actually balling up scrap paper and throwing it into a bin.
Here’s how I figured out that you’re better off to play the online version of this game:
- Time to throw a shot (online and in real life): 5 seconds
- GHG emissions from producing one sheet of paper = 4.5 grams (assumes 5 lbs per ream of paper - 500 sheets)
- GHG emissions from using a desktop PC for 5 seconds = 0.02 grams (assumes .55 lbs per kWh in CO2 equivalent emissions)
There are some cavets though:
- In the virtual game, a cooling fan is used to increase the challenge of the game. 4.5 grams of CO2 equivalent per piece of paper does not factor in the power to run the fan and my guess is the source I found the GHG emissions of a piece of paper from does not factor in transportation costs.
- When looking at the power consumption of using the computer to pretend to throw a paper ball into a bin, I didn’t factor in the GHG emissions from building the computer in the first place.
- Even if you assume that my calculations are generous, you can triple the emissions for the computer version of this game and paper still pollutes nearly 100 times more.
Enjoy the long weekend, if you’re in Canada!
*********************
Aaron “Crooky” Cruikshank is the Principal and Founder of Friuch Consulting. He has written professionally about science and technology for over ten years.
Topics: Levity, Technology |
Loading ...