In keeping with our most recent Clubhouse challenge, I found a great little corner of http://www.microsoft.com that showcases all the different ways Microsoft is going green, both in terms of our products and some of the other things we’re doing as a company.  I’m proud to work at a company that is doing so much to help lessen our direct impact on the environment as well as help our customers hopefully do the same.

You can check out the main Microsoft and the Environment website at http://www.microsoft.com/environment/default.aspx, or click on the click on the graphic below to visit the Environment Spotlight section of the site above to check out the wide spectrum of work we’re doing.

I hope some of what we’re doing can inspire your own green efforts!  Please let me know what ways you’ve found to go green by leaving a comment below.

- Marcus, Windows Community Manager

Do you all know Kermit the Frog?  Remember his famous song Bein’ Green?  In it Kermit lamented that it wasn’t that easy being green.  But that was before there was a whole new kind of green – what we now refer to as being more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.  That is actually not so hard, especially when it comes to using your PC.

Here are some ways I’ve tried to get greener with my PC use.  I hope you’ll find some of the tips helpful.

Power Settings & Peripherals

Get to know and love your power options settings inside Windows, shown below:

I have set mine to the Energy Star settings where my display turns off after 10 minutes, and my computer goes to sleep after 15 minutes.  I don’t ever totally turn my computer off since I use Windows Media Center to record television and I want my PC to wake up to do this.  I do, however, try to make sure that when I’m not actually using my computer, I turn off my peripherals (monitor, speakers, printer) so that they aren’t using any power, not even a “low-power” mode. 

E-Mail

What’s so green about e-mail?  Well, I use Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Mail to try to go as paperless as I can.  I try to get all of my bills electronically, and prefer to get product offers that way too instead of catalogs and physical mail.  It’s hard to unsubscribe from the snail mail version of some of these, but well worth your time if you can.  The ones I do get I make sure and put in the paper recycling bin and not the trash.

Downloads

The other green things I’ve been doing and really never thought of as green is downloading stuff.  Not just software, but also games (thanks, Xbox!), movies (thanks, Netflix!) and music (thanks, Zune!).  I know that a download takes energy that’s devoted to the server in some data center somewhere and the energy to keep the internet pipe from that data center to my house intact.  But my hypothesis is that downloading is greener than buying the actual thing and dealing with all the packaging that typically accompanies the product.  Not to mention the transportation and manufacturing of the product.  Does anyone know of any stats on how less environmentally impactful downloads are versus physical products?  If so, please leave me a comment.

Good luck as you try to get greener!  If you have your own green tips to share, please consider joining the Clubhouse where Windows enthusiasts share their blog entries.

- Marcus, Windows Community Manager

I hope you’re all as excited as I am about the upcoming launch of Windows 7.  Here’s your chance to be a part of it!  You can apply now to host your very own Windows 7 launch party.  By hosting your own party, you can share your expertise directly with your friends and family.  Plus you get a free “Signature Edition” copy of Windows 7 Ultimate! 

I hope you’ll consider hosting a party.  If you end up doing one, please come back and leave me a comment on how it went!

- Marcus, Windows Community Manager