Re: [Fsfe-uk] ZDNet Carbon-neutral PC runs Vista (not Free software)

[Matthew Blissett]

On Saturday 15 September 2007 19:52:20 Chris Croughton wrote:
> On Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 11:33:05AM +0100, Jon Grant wrote:
> > On 13/09/2007, Chris Croughton <address@hidden> wrote:
> > > On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 09:46:52PM +0100, Jon Grant wrote:
> > > > Hi,
> > > > [...]
> > > >
> > > > > Which won't work because people can't distinguish the effect of
> > > > > running a computer from all the other things which affect their
> > > > > energy consumption!
> > > >
> > > > If the tax is on the purchase price consumer can "see the
> > > > environmental cost" without the need to laboriously measure the
> > > > actual energy usage of the PC after they've already purchased it.
> > >
> > > Who is going to assess the energy cost in advance, and how can they do
> > > so with no idea of how the machine will be used?
> >
> > Like always (the company), the companies will have to put their AC
> > power devices through tests and get rated for estimated lifetime
> > usage.
>
> And of course they'll be truthful and won't distort or selectively use
> statistics to make their products seem better.  </sarcasm>

It's not that great, but a comparison could be made based on the maximum power 
use of the PC as it is sold, and the EU energy use diagram used (the one with 
A-G in power consumption and the coloured bars). That makes people aware, and 
there's already tax on electricity

> (almost all Windows non-business users I know only run their machines
> from when they get home untli when they go to bed, most *ix geeks are
> proud of their year-plus uptimes).

I think that's a geek/non-geek trait, rather than *ix/non-*ix.

> (And in case you think I'm anti *ix, I'm one of the *ix geeks who runs
> his machines 24/7/52...)

But that's a waste! :-)
$ last | grep reboot | head
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Sat Sep 15 19:41 - 20:26  (00:44)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Sat Sep 15 18:04 - 19:00  (00:56)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Sat Sep 15 11:10 - 15:30  (04:19)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Fri Sep 14 22:55 - 02:28  (03:33)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Fri Sep 14 17:20 - 18:47  (01:26)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Thu Sep 13 19:23 - 23:10  (03:47)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Wed Sep 12 19:43 - 22:40  (02:57)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Tue Sep 11 19:44 - 22:34  (02:50)
reboot   system boot  2.6.21-2-686     Mon Sep 10 22:02 - 00:45  (02:43)

> > Will be interesting to see what politicians come up with, probably
> > some free-market system, where we pay for CO2 output rather than for
> > KWH like at present?
>
> That would be logical, unlike your tax at point of sale.  And therefore
> is unlikely (it's more difficult to measure).

If the energy is taxed when it's used it shouldn't be that hard.
There'd be no tax on the energy produced by a wind turbine. Electricity from 
gas would have tax on it, from coal a higher tax.


-- 
Matt :)

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