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Don't be so quick to toss out your old computer

There's some new research out today that shows upgrading to a new computer might be more harmful to the environment than simply upgrading your old computer. This is because it takes more energy to create a new computer than that same computer will consume in 10 years. Here are some things you can do to fix up your current computer instead of buying a new one.

If you've been using the same computer for a few years, you probably notice it running slower than when you first got it. This doesn't mean it's time to get a new computer! Usually the slow-down is because of all the crap you've downloaded throughout the life of your computer. When you get too much crap on your computer, it will start slowing down. There are a few things you can do in this case, to make your computer run faster.

RAM. It's like the temporary memory in your computer. If you don't have a lot of RAM, you can't do very much with your computer's small temporary memory. The more RAM you have the more you can do without your computer slowing down. It's also possible your hard drive is full. If there's no room to put new files on your computer, it will try to store your data in temporary memory which will result in extreme slow down.

If you have a laptop, it might be worth buying a new battery for it. Laptop batteries do wear-out over time, so the 5-hour charge you originally had might only be a 1-hour charge today. Lots of people consider this a good time to get a new computer. Save your money and the environment, and just buy a new battery instead.

Over 220 million tons of e-Waste are generated annually in the USA. e-Waste is the waste generated from computers and other electronic devices. With the world population growing exponentially daily, little things like this will end up helping our environment in the long run.


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