Open Source Energy Savings

Now, this is cool: Austin Hill and Ron Dembo of Zerofootprint are launching a program called Dark Green PC that will use open-source software that people will install on their computers to reduce the amount of energy consumed. At the mesh conference, Hill said the key to making Dark Green a success is making it a social and fun activity by letting people broadcast on Facebook, on their blogs, etc. how much energy they’re saving. The question is how much energy could we save just by turning off our screen savers: Hill said if 100 million people installed Dark Green software on their computers, it would be equivalent to planting 13 million trees, or taking nine million cars off the road, or not building 200 power plants. “This is an example of something small that can have a huge impact,” he said. Dark Green is looking for a open-source project leader, and hopes to have some early code developed by the Fall. For more, see Austin’s blog post, which includes a video from StandoutJobs about the open source project leader position.

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