From Amanda's Keyboard: Go Green

by Amanda Ochsner

Back in January I included a story in the weekly news column about green gaming, and it's stuck in my mind every since I read it. I think it's the fact that a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 that's constantly left on eats up as much energy as two full-sized refrigerators. That little game box devours as much energy as two of those HUGE food boxes?! That's quite crazy. With some little factoids like that in mind, I've decided to compile a short list of tips for you to put into practice in order to start gaming green. Besides being awesomely alliterative, you'll also be doing some good for the planet -- and your wallet -- too.

In addition to coming up with a few of my own ideas, I have borrowed a number of tips from the article on Planet Green, which was my initial inspiration for this piece, as well as a post from the Check Out blog.

1. Turn off your consoles and computers when you're not using them. This seems obvious, but I know people and people are lazy, so I'm well aware that while we all believe we should turn these things off, I know we don't always do it. I'll admit to walking away from the console with the power switched on because I plan to be back in just a few minutes, and then find it still powered on hours later. If a game gives you the option of saving whenever you'd like, there's no reason to walk away before saving and shutting off. It'll shave some money off of your electric bill too. Consoles and computers also have sleep modes or auto power-down options. If you can't trust yourself to turn things off, why not set them to do it automatically?

2. If you're a pro at turning your games or computer off when you're not using them, you might be ready to graduate to the next level of green. Did you know that your consoles and computer still use up electricity even when you have them turned off? It's not much, but it adds up, and there's a really simple way to prevent this needless waste -- power strips. In addition to offering you more places to plug your things in, most power strips have a handy switch to turn them off, which gives you a really easy way to keep your things from slurping energy -- and your nickels and dimes -- while you sleep.

3. Some sources will tell you not to watch high-def movies on your gaming systems because they consume a lot more energy than stand-alone players. While this is true, the suggestion isn't very practical if you ask me. I know I'm not about to buy a Blu-ray player when I've already got a PlayStation 3 in my living room. There's no need to have extra players sitting around the house, so if you've still got an old DVD player, but also have a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 (or even a computer that plays movies), you might want to consider donating your DVD player if it still works. At the very least, take it to somewhere that accepts electronics for recycling -- there are a number of places that do, including Goodwill and Best Buy stores nationwide.

4. I keep reading about how much waste plastic game cases generate. The number of cases sold in the last year translates into the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions that 9,000 cars would generate. Even if you're not concerned with greenhouse emissions, you might be annoyed by how many game cases you have sitting around your house. I know they're all over my apartment. One way to cut back is to see if you can download a game before you buy it. There are a number of websites like Direct2Drive, Steam, PopCap, and others that allow you to download games directly, letting you skip the plastic cases and discs, which helps you cut back on your junk too.

I expect we'll see more eco-friendly game systems in the next console generation, as well as computers that require a lot less energy in the near future. And downloading is quickly gaining momentum as a viable way to buy video games. That's good news for gaming and the planet.