So, we all know where we stand on the feds, right? They’re the enemy, the bad guys, “the Man” (as in, “stick it to ... ”).


I mean, as environmentalists, we understand that big government cares first about big business and other concerns are addressed only insofar as they don’t inconvenience said Big Biz, don’t we? After all, you don’t have to look hard for evidence that the current administration seems to not care about our natural world.


But in our haste to ‘fight the power,’ we may miss some things. There are, in fact, some very cool green initiatives going on at the federal level. For instance, all the electronics we use in our offices every day can amount to a whole lot of environmental baggage. Here’s how the government is helping to ease that load:



-- The EPA’s eCycling site is a clearinghouse for info on how businesses and individuals can dispose of computers in an environmentally friendly way.



-- EPEAT, established with a grant from the EPA, helps people choose the computers that hurt the environment the least.



-- The Federal Electronics Challenge (and its sister program, The State Electronics Challenge) is an awards program that encourages government agencies to think green when buying/using/disposing of electronics.



I know the more jaded of you out there are saying, “the government’s caring about the environment only because the environment is becoming big business.” Yeah, maybe. But the action’s what counts, not the motivation. Isn’t it?

Labels: computers, EPA, federal, government, recycle