Green by design

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Green by design

I thought just about every possible space left on the green bandwagon had been grabbed, but not so; Sitepoint has 10 tips on how to be a greener web designer.

Okay, so I know it’s a niche site for web professionals, but seriously, WTF is that all about?

Are there guides out there for other professions, I wonder?

From How to be a greener lumberjack;

  • Back away from the chainsaw.
  • Stop cutting down fucking trees.

From How to be a greener narcotics runner;

  • Consider the use of biofuels for the high powered speed boat you use to outrun customs patrols.
  • Slower is greener – try using less fuel by sneaking past patrols at more sedate speeds.

From How to be a greener president of the United States;

  • Stop invading other countries and launching several million tons of ordnance.
  • Stop giving tax breaks to your buddies on the boards of the oil consortiums.

But I digress.

In the web designer equivalent there are no-brainer gems, such as using an LCD monitor to reduce your carbon footprint. Unfortunately that’d only be greener and truly beneficial to the environment if the production of those LCD’s did not emit nitrogen trifluoride. (Flat Screen TV’s Worse for the Environment)

Hey, I’m all for being more environmentally friendly. If I was Gordon Gecko, Green is Good would be my motto. I have a small, economical car when what I’d really like is a sports car. I take the train to work. I recycle. I consume organic produce. Admittedly I’m counting beer as organic produce here, but the sentiment is there.

However, I think the whole green message is lost in the noise when it’s taken to extremes. Not only that, when I’m being told to green-up on a site I’d only usually go to for articles related to web development, well, it somewhat ironically counts as pollution.

Rob