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10 Simple Tips on How Technology Can Help Everyone Be Green on Earth Day - and Every Day


WEBWIRE

NEW YORK - A few simple steps are all it takes to conserve energy and help protect the environment. And with today’s broadband and wireless technologies, being green has never been easier.

As the observance of Earth Day - on April 22 - approaches, here are 10 suggestions for using those technologies to help everyone be green:

1. Telecommute one day a week or once a month. Working from home using broadband connections, like Verizon’s ultra-fast FiOS Internet or reliable High-Speed Internet services, can help reduce traffic congestion and reduce your fuel bill.

2. Recycle cell phones that are no longer used. Donating these phones to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine® program will keep batteries out of landfills and help raise funds to assist domestic violence survivors.

3. Switch to paperless billing. Verizon residential customers helped save the equivalent of 52,000 trees last year by making the switch.

4. Have a virtual meeting. Use video conferencing instead of travel. (One flight between London and Chicago produces 13.24 tons of carbon dioxide per person.)

5. Shop online using a high-speed Internet connection instead of making a trip to the mall for a single item.

6. Watch a movie with a theater-like experience using Verizon FiOS TV’s video-on-demand service instead of driving to rent a movie.

7. Use a smart thermostat to reduce energy costs.

8. Use a mapping tool, such as VZ Navigator, to find the most direct route to your destination to help save on fuel.

9. Use a smart power strip for your computer or wireless phone charger. Sensors in the strip turn off the power supply when the items are not in use, saving electricity and money.

10. Learn more. Visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site to learn about additional steps you can take at home, work or school to help protect the environment. Or, visit the Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity.org to find a host of free educational resources to teach children about environmental stewardship.

“Our extensive global networks can wrap around the globe 20 times over,” said Kathy Brown, senior vice president of public policy and corporate responsibility for Verizon. “Those advanced wireless and wireline networks have tremendous potential for helping individuals and organizations use technology to become more energy efficient.”

The Broadband Solution

The telecommunications industry and the larger information communications technology (ICT) industry account for only about 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, yet the wireline and wireless broadband technologies offered by companies like Verizon can help greatly reduce the 98 percent of emissions contributed by other industries. Recent studies have shown that broadband usage and ICT can play an essential role in cutting carbon emissions, boosting the economy and reducing dependence on foreign oil.

Last November, Verizon joined nine other companies and the National Resources Defense Council to commission an addendum of the GeSI study, “Smart 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age.” The addendum focused on how information and communications technology can enable a significant reduction of the United States’ carbon emissions through 2020.

Altogether, information and communications technologies, which include broadband, could cut annual CO2 emissions in the U.S. between 13 percent and 22 percent through 2020, according to the report. This translates into gross fuel and energy savings of between $140 billion and $240 billion, or a reduction of 11 percent to 21 percent in total oil consumption and a reduction of 20 percent to 36 percent in imported oil.

Verizon is the only company in the U.S. to bring fiber to the home on a national network. Verizon FiOS services, which offer the fastest broadband and ultimate home-entertainment experience, and the company’s nationwide and global fiber-optic transport backbone networks provide the foundation for the SMART 2020 recommendations such as smart logistics, smart buildings and smart power grids, and by reducing travel through video conferencing and telework.

Verizon’s ultra-fast, broadband networks already help customers reduce their travel through high-definition video conferencing, teleworking and by facilitating e-commerce.

Verizon IP and Broadband for Business

The company also operates the nation’s most reliable wireless network and the world’s most interconnected IP network, which serve as a platform for communications and commerce worldwide. Small and large businesses rely on Verizon wireline and wireless communications and IT solutions to operate effectively in the U.S. and around the globe. Verizon Business handles millions of virtual meetings each month through a wide range of audio, video and Web-conferencing offerings, IP-based services, and some of the most advanced meeting tools available today, like telepresence.

Verizon Business also offers a wide range of advanced IT solutions that can virtualize a company’s computing platforms, reducing the number of dedicated servers and PCs while saving energy in the process. The company announced last month that it is expanding its consulting and management services that cover every aspect of virtualization. With these new services, Verizon is helping customers achieve the full benefits of virtualization - efficiency, flexibility and cost control.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving more than 80 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 224,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.



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