Thinking Green

This web page focuses on small things you can do as a member of the Saint Mary's College community to help reduce the waste of resources related to technology at the College and help the environment at the same time.

These estimates are based on the submitted reports from Residential Computer Consultants attending to the Writing Center printer and the Cluster Consultants attending to the printers in the Trumper Computer Center:

Trumper Computer Center printers:

  • January 2004:
    over 53 reams of paper used
    over 26500 pages printed
    average 18.93 pages printed per Saint Mary's student
  • February 2004:
    over 92 reams of paper used
    over 46000 pages printed
    average 32.86 pages printed per Saint Mary's student
  • March 2004:
    over 100 reams of paper used
    over 50000 pages printed
    average 35.71 pages printed per Saint Mary's student

Writing Center printer:

  • January 2004:
    over 25 reams of paper used, over 12500 pages printed
    average 8.93 pages printed per Saint Mary's student
    average 25.51 pages printed per Le Mans Hall resident
  • February 2004:
    over 44 reams of paper used, over 22000 pages printed
    average 15.71 pages printed per Saint Mary's student
    average 44.90 pages printed per Le Mans Hall resident
  • March 2004:
    over 43 reams of paper used, over 21500 pages printed
    average 15.36 pages printed per Saint Mary's student
    average 43.88 pages printed per Le Mans Hall resident

These estimates should be considered to be representative of the least amount of paper used during these time periods in these locations. Averages based on 1400 students studing on campus this semester and 490 residents of Le Mans Hall. Also, there were 14 class days in January, 20 class days in February, and 18 class days in March due to semester and spring breaks.
Save a tree (or two, or three, or ten, or a hundred . . .)

Saint Mary's College has a paper recycling plan in place. Please put unwanted paper in the blue recycling bins provided in the computer clusters, classrooms, and other locations on campus.

Did you know?

  • Every ton of paper made from recycled materials saves about 17 trees.
  • Recycling paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber.
  • Nearly 81.3 million tons of paper and paperboard waste was generated in the U.S. in 1994.
  • Americans throw away enough office and writing paper annually to build a wall 12 feet high stretching from Los Angeles to New York City.
  • Paper and paperboard constituted the largest portion of the U.S. municipal solid waste in 1999, representing 38.1% of the total waste by weight.

Sources: Environmental Protection Agency,
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/src/paper.htm and
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm, and Draw Enterprises Inc.,
http://www.recyclingit.com/recyfact2.htm

Here are some helpful tips you can use to reduce paper waste:

  • Preview your document. Almost every program has a print preview feature. Make sure you are getting what you want before you send the job. Print preview can catch mistakes that are easy to make, like printing with the wrong orientation (landscape or portrait) or printing on the wrong size paper. You can also spellcheck your document the spell checking tools included with most word processors, including Microsoft Word.
  • Print only one copy. The printers are not intended to be used as copy machines. Please do not abuse your free printing privileges by printing multiple copies of a document.
  • Be patient for your printouts. Some documents, especially those with large or detailed graphics, take a long time to print, it can sometimes seem that your job didn't make it to the printer. You may also have your document stuck in the queue behind another person's job that is taking a while to print. You can ask the cluster consultant on duty to check the printer queue for the status of your print job in Trumper.
  • Talk to your professors. Some professors may allow you to e-mail assignments to them in order to reduce paper waste. In classes where you have to provide handouts for a project, send copies to a class e-mail list or listserv.
  • PowerPoint handouts can be made with three or more slides per page. This option is available under the printing menu on both Macintosh and Windows computers. Instructions for printing out multiple slides per page can be found at http://www.saintmarys.edu/~clusters/powerpoint.html. Do not print out PowerPoint presentations with less than three slides per page.
  • Print drafts out double-sided. The Xerox printer in the Trumper Computer Center can print on both sides of a sheet of paper. This option is available under the printing menu on both Macintosh and Windows computers. Instructions for printing on both sides of a page can be found at http://www.saintmarys.edu/~clusters/xeroxduplex.html.
  • Use scrap paper. Paper that has already been printed on is not suitable for use in the printers again. Use the back side of printed paper to take notes or write messages.

LCD versus CRT

Information Technology began replacing CRT monitors with LCD monitors on Saint Mary's campus during the summer of 2003.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors are commonly referred to as flat panel displays, and they are usually much smaller and lighter than their cathode ray tube (CRT) predecessors. While on the average LCD monitors are more expensive in purchase price than their classic competitors, LCD monitors offer the consumer a lot in return.

Significant electricity savings are possible through the improved energy efficiency of the LCD technology. It can even be found that, in some cases, the energy-consumption of an average LCD display can be half to two-thirds of that for an average CRT. LCD monitors also generate less heat, meaning lower air-conditioning bills in the summer months. LCD monitors also have a negligible emission of harmful radiation.

Source: EnergyStar, http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=monitors.lcd

Sleep is good

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, by setting your computer monitor to sleep when it is not in use, you could save from 100 to 600 kWh per year depending on your computer use habits. These energy savings are equivalent to $8.50 to $51 a year saved at 8.5 cents per kWh. In terms of reducing carbon dioxide, this is the equivalent of planting 1,000 to 6,000 square feet of trees or preventing 1 to 4 weeks worth of car emissions.

Setting your computer monitor to sleep will not close applications you have running, interfere with network settings, or log you out of your computer. It will just turn off your monitor when it is not being used. Moving your mouse or hitting the space bar on your computer will wake your computer up from sleep.

Your computer monitor also generates a significant amount of heat. By setting your computer monitor to sleep, you can help reduce the amount of heat it produces. (This can be especially important in small residence hall rooms, study carrels, and cramped offices.)

Visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "Sleep is Good" monitor power management web site at http://www.energystar.gov/powermanagement/index.asp for more information.
Instructions for putting your computer monitor to sleep:

Mac OS 9

  1. Go to the Apple menu and select Control Panels -> Energy Saver.
  2. Make sure the Sleep Setup tab is selected. If it is not, click on it.
  3. Click on the box next to "Separate timing for display sleep" to put a check in it.
  4. Move the slider to 10 minutes.
  5. Note: If you wish, you may also decide to put the system to sleep after it has been inactive for a period of time, such as 30 minutes. Put a check in the box next to that option and then move the slider accordingly. Close the Energy Saver window.

Mac OS X

  1. Go to the dock and click on System Preferences.
  2. Click on the Energy Saver icon in the System Preferences window.
  3. Make sure the Sleep tab is selected. If it is not, click on it.
  4. Click on the box next to "Separate timing for display sleep" to put a check in it.
  5. Move the slider to 10 minutes.
  6. Note: If you wish, you may also decide to put the system to sleep after it has been inactive for a period of time, such as 30 minutes. Put a check in the box next to that option and then move the slider accordingly. Close the Energy Saver window.

Windows 95

  1. Click on the Start button and select Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel window.
  3. Click the Screen Saver tab, then check the Low-Power Standby box and set it for 10 minutes. Check the Shut Off Monitor box and set it for 20 minutes.
  4. If the Energy Saving Features of Monitor box is greyed-out and you know you have an Energy Star labeled monitor:
  5. Click the Settings tab, then click the Advanced Properties button.
  6. Add a check in the box marked Monitor is Energy Star Compliant, then return to step 3.
  7. If you are not sure whether your monitor is ENERGY STAR qualified, make sure that your monitor has been properly installed and recognized by the operating system.
  8. If you don't know how to do this, contact your administrator for assistance. Once properly installed, if the monitor is ENERGY STAR qualified, the Energy Saving Features of Monitor box should no longer be greyed-out.
  9. Click OK.

Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 2000

  1. Click on the Start button and select Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel window.
  3. In the Display Properties window, click the Screen Saver tab, then click the Settings button in the Energy Saving Features of Monitor box.
  4. Under Power Schemes, select Home/Office Desk.
  5. Set Turn Off Monitor for after 10 minutes.
  6. Note: We do not recommend changing the power management settings for "System standby," "Turn off hard disks," or "System hibernates." Click OK.

Windows XP

  1. Click on the Start button and select Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel window.
  3. In the Display Properties window, click the Screen Saver tab, then click the Power button in the Monitor Power box.
  4. Under Power Schemes, select Home/Office Desk.
  5. Set Turn Off Monitor for after 10 minutes.
  6. Note: We do not recommend changing the power management settings for "Turn off hard disks" or "Hibernation." Click OK.

Questions about setting your computer monitor to sleep?

  • If you are a student living on-campus, please fill out a ResNet Problem Report Form at http://fixit.saintmarys.edu.
  • If you are a student living off-campus, please contact the Information Technology Helpdesk by filling out a Help Request at https://www.saintmarys.edu:8888/tracking/userform.html
  • If you are a faculty or staff member, please contact the Information Technology Helpdesk by filling out a Help Request at https://www.saintmarys.edu:8888/tracking/userform.html, e-mail helpdesk@saintmarys.edu, call (574) 284-4715, or visit 75C Le Mans Hall. The Help Desk is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.