While computer usage can actually lessen our environmental footprint, for example, being able to work from home or control of farm irrigation and many other tasks, the energy consumption involved with casual computing and gaming generally is massive.

There's not just the actual computer usage related electricity consumption, there's also all the millions of tons of plastic and metal used to create the billions of computers in their various forms now on this planet.

We can all do our bit in lessening our impact and the following are  tips for more earth friendly computing, some of which will also save you cash!

- When not in use for extended periods, switch your computer off at the wall to avoid phantom power load consumption.

- Have your power saving/management options enabled and properly configured for periods when your computer is temporarily not in use. In Windows, this can be found in Settings/Control Panel/Power Options

- During usage, only have your screen as bright as you need it - unnecessarily bright screens really chew the juice;

- If you're going to use a screen saver, use a blank (black) screen - animated screen savers just consume electricity unnecessarily.

- When buying components and peripheral items, try to choose those that come in the least amount of plastic packaging as possible.

- For your next computer, consider a notebook instead of desktop - these use under 50% the electricity of a desktop machine

Events are usually lavish affairs and lavish usually = rampant consumption. While it's hard to make an event truly green, here's a few tips to lessen the load on the planet. Implement one, or use them all - every bit counts!

Invitations

Just about everyone has an email account or three these days, so instead of traditional paper invitations, perhaps use paperless ones - email. For that extra touch of class, consider an online invitation service - I reviewed one such service here. If you do need to use paper based invitations, try and ensure the items you purchase are made from recycled paper or even tree free paper.

Venue and travel

Think about the people you're inviting - where do they live or work? If possible, choose a central location. This will not only reduce the time they have to travel, save them some money on gas (which they'll be thankful to you for), but also reduce the amount of travelled related greenhouse gas emissions.

You could also try to find a venue close to public transport and include instructions in your invitation of how to get to the event via this means. Also offer a few car pooling tips as some of the attendees may be familiar with each other and would be happy to share a ride.

When selecting a venue, set up a checklist of things to ask about - such as whether the room uses energy efficient lighting (e.g. CFL or LED lighting), the type of heating and cooling used and if the room is properly insulated

Why not help the environment, save on gas, generate less greenhouse gases and burn more calories, all at the same time? What a win-win situation. Improving not only the health of the world, but your health as well. Follow some of these simple ways to save the environment and also improve your own fitness:

Walk.  

For shorter distances why not walk? Starting up the car and driving it around the block, to the local shops, or the school, can use a lot of fuel. Walk the kids to school. Everyone will benefit and you will be able to listen to your children attentively instead of concentrating on traffic. Your children will also burn up a few calories as well, which is no bad thing with the global childhood obesity pandemic.

Riding your bike  

..for distances that are too far too walk. Riding is another extremely environmentally friendly form of transport. You will be amazed at how much fuel you will save in a week by biking to the office instead of driving. Riding a bike is an excellent way to burn calories and improve your aerobic fitness.

Taking the stairs