Hows that for a provocative title? ;)
Seriously though, all scientists would probably agree that their labs and/or equipment are huge energy hogs. Some groups are so wasteful that they produce several times the amount of waste per year than average Americans (lest we forget how wasteful we all are). Even computational groups that generate virtually no waste kick out a ton of energy by running their computer clusters all day and night. Hervé Philippe at the Université de Montréal calculated that his group produced 44 tonnes of CO2 last year, and that’s after he turned down numerous invitations to give international talks.
How productive is it for researchers to be kicking out all this CO2, especially if they’re studying global warming or biodiversity? At what point does it become futile? I’m not suggesting we all pack it in because frankly, I’d be without a job, but there is at the very least significant room for improvement. After all, if the scientists that are trying to influence all of these skeptics out there can’t curb their carbon footprints, then what hope is there for everyone else?
Luckily, there are a few things we can do. As previously discussed on Pete Jordan’s blog (here), traveling to scientific conferences accounts for a huge amount of carbon emissions. Virtual conferences and even social networking sites like NN could (and should) become more integral to the way in which science is communicated. There are other actions that scientists can take around the lab too, as outlined in a recent issue of Science:
Seven tips for making your lab more energy efficient
(From Science 318, 39-40; Oct 5, 2007)
- Close hood sashes and disable unused hoods
- Defrost freezers regularly
- Turn off equipment at night
- Borrow and lend used equipment
- Share surplus chemicals and use environmentally friendly reagents
- Request removal of unused light bulbs from ceiling fixtures
- Print on both sides
So how about it NN? Any other ideas or will being wasteful and pumped out massive quantities of CO2 just get tossed under the rationalization of another necessary evil for the sake of science?
“Borrow and lend used equipment” is something we’ve considered facilitating on Nature Network – at least at the local level. Would that be useful to anyone? e.g. if a researcher at one university needs some equipment, and someone in another department or nearby institution has some to offer, and we had a clever means of flagging it up, would they actually help each other out?
Sounds ideal and idealistic, Matt – if it could work.
I think one issue, Matt and Nicholas, must be wastage, though—with the lifecycle of a lab computer for example, or other electr equipment- – how do they dispose of it? I have about 3 old computers or laptops (crashed beyond repair) in my attic that I don’t know how to get rid of “properly”. How can labs, which must have tons of unusuable, out-of-date equipment, help?
The WEEE directive from the EU insists that we recycle electronic equipment – this applies to individuals (who usually can do it through their councils) or businesses (there are loads of waste disposal cos that do it. Usually it results in the computers being ground up so their raw materials can be reclaimed. Like gold, copper, mercury. Yum!
Thanks for commenting everyone.
Matt—I like the idea of having an ‘equipment commons’ but like most Web 2.0 services right now, it would definitely take a while for it to catch. But it could be cool—like a scientist’s craigslist.
Maxine—Yes, properly disposing of electronics is important. Otherwise this happens! There should be a one-stop resource for information like this, but I am not aware that any exist.
Scott, what about all the horror stories one reads about old computers and the like being dumped in China and developing countries? (Possibly via people who think they are putting them into local bone fide recycling…but actually aren’t?)