Green Gadgets For Dummies

Today, the rush to “go green” is impacting everything from the automobile industry to building design. In fact, there’s a growing market of devices that help people monitor their “greenness,” as well as a new breed of gadgets that not only take a new environmentally friendlier design approach, but a more energy-efficient approach to power consumption. For anyone interested in saving money, reducing their carbon footprint, or just being more environmentally friendly with their personal electronics, Wiley Publishing is releasing GREEN GADGETS FOR DUMMIES (Wiley Publishing, Inc.; June 2009; $24.99), the definitive guide to environmentally and wallet-friendly gadgets. Written by Joe Hutsko, who contributes to the New York Times Green Inc. blog, the book explains how to research gadget buying decisions, how to use products in a more environmentally-friendly way, and how to say goodbye to expired electronics with minimal environmental impact. As New York Times Green Inc. editor Tom Zeller, Jr. writes in his foreword to GREEN GADGETS FOR DUMMIES:

What if there were “greener” versions of the technologies—like computers and cell phones—that we use frequently, and upgrade regularly?

Of course, such technologies do exist, and that’s part of what Joe Hutsko has assembled here: A guide to green gadgetry and how you can best deploy it to your own personal environmental advantage.

But this is not just a buying guide, and there’s a key point in that: Making better, less wasteful use of the gadgets you already own, and finding sensible ways to reduce, reuse and recycle those things you no longer need, are first-order strategies for consumers seeking to limit their overall footprint.

So, too, is learning to understand the increasingly complex eco-friendly and energy-efficient labeling systems used to keep consumers informed. You’ll find guidance on these matters here as well.

Over 15 years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star, a voluntary labeling program that was designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in computer monitors, climate control equipment, and other technologies. The term “green computing” was born. Today, “green gadgets” encompass everything from iPods and energy-efficient home entertainment devices, to solar laptop chargers and crank-powered gizmos. They not only benefit the environment, they often also have a financial upside. GREEN GADGETS FOR DUMMIES covers the latest devices as well as:

• The environmental and financial benefits of green gadgets
• Which gadgets save energy-and which ones waste it
• Ways to offset your gadgets’ collective carbon footprint when consumption can’t be reduced
• Tips for understanding products labels and avoiding “greenwash” hype
• How to calculate the energy and money gadgets consume

Designed for gadget fanatics, readers who care about the environment, and anyone interested in saving money, GREEN GADGETS FOR DUMMIES provides an overview of what green gadgets are, the benefits they provide, and how to go about using green technology in everyday life.

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