Environmentalists with land lines: Did you know that if all answering machines in US homes were replaced with voicemail, energy savings would result in reducing air pollution — equivalent to removing 250K cars from the road?
This I learned via The Green Book, a lil guide that contained mostly info I had but a few nuggets I didn’t know.
The answering machine-voice mail issue’s one I’d never thought of before. I use my land only for DSL and fax. Obviously I use the DSL all the time, but the fax I use like a few times a month. Yet all this time I had my answering machine hooked up to the fax/phone, just hanging out there doing nothing –
So — I’ve detached my answering machine, without even getting voice mail. If you know me, you can call me on my celly.
This move actually got rid of enough adapters and such that I’ve consolidated a buncha stuff onto one power strip (vs. the previous 2 strips) — which I now turn off at night before going to sleep. If you wanna send a fax, do it between noon and midnight Pacific time –
As for my now-unplugged answering machine: From freecycle it came, and to freecycle it shall return –
June 20th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
I haven’t used an answering machine since 1996.
June 21st, 2007 at 3:32 am
If your fax volume is low, you could use a fax service and unplug your fax machine as well. You can get free fax service for incoming faxes, such as jfax.com, where they’ll email you the fax when someone sends you something. In addition to saving power, it’ll save paper by having faxes online. It also helps to be able to see faxes when you’re not at home or out of town. However, you have to pay for the service if your fax volume is high, For outgoing faxes, I usually go to the copy center because I hardly send faxes and don’t like a fax machine sitting around in the home, especially if it stays plugged in all the time.
June 21st, 2007 at 5:13 am
if someone else uses your answering machine the problem is still there, isnt it?
recycle it
June 21st, 2007 at 4:30 pm
How confident are you with these numbers? I wouldn’t be surprised if this was true, but I know all too well about how easily those kinds of calculations can be way off. Did the book give a source for the stats?
-Jamais
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:44 am
jason — I’ll look into jfax! Thanks for the tip. Maybe my fax’ll get freecycled too –
Johan — Considering I had my answering machine too, I’m guessing many others own ‘em and worse, buying them new. My old answering machine’s thus going to prevent additional unnecessary unnecessary consumerism until one day when everyone opts for voicemail instead –
Jamais — Not that confident, honestly, as only the coolest of people can figure this kind of stuff out with painstaking detail (i.e. you and the cheeseburger dealio). The two sources cited in the book are here and here –
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:26 am
Johan raises an interesting point. If I have a device that is environmentally wasteful to use but environmentally wasteful to make new then is it better to recycle or freecycle? Darn.
I don’t know anyone in Ireland with an answer machine, there probably are a few hangers on left with machines but these days everyone gets voice mail on their landlines and cell phones, maybe the telcos in the States should make a similar drive to switch people over to voice mail.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:47 am
declan: i would probably go for siel’s response. i.e. reuse at least prevents the waste in making a new. (unplug it when you are at home).
but then, perhaps people that are more likely to reuse also are more likely to opt for alternate less wasteful strategies - e.g. voicemail. hmmm …
i haven’t had a landline phone nor answering machine for little over 3 years now … alhtough i think both are in my junk pile in my mothers basement…
btw
do you really need to send fax within the us? internet penetration should be close to 100%, isn’t it?
e-fax? email!