Imagine that you wake up tomorrow and feel incredibly tired, even though you just had a full night’s rest. You go to work, but while walking through a hall, by the copy machine and the out-gassing of paint, carpet, plastics, you are overwhelmed with nausea.

For many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome (MCS), this is reality.

Recently, stories about multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome made national news, as in the October 19, 2006 story in the New York Times about Colorado resident Caryl Shonbrun and her efforts to avoid illness from offending chemicals. The story, “Seeking Modern Refuge from Modern Life” describes how Caryl and her husband moved to Fort Collins to build a chemical free house and succeeded, to a degree.

Her balance can come off quickly, she was greatly affected when one of their neighbors puts pesticides on their lawn. Modern medicine has no answer to that condition so they are practically on their own. Over 80,000 chemicals are surrounding us, the interaction of those chemicals is completely unknown, for example a certain kind of carpet and certain kind of paint could create a problem, while the carpet by itself and the paint by itself doesn’t.

How are you Feeling?

You may be wondering as you sit in front of your computer and feeling quite normal, what MCS has to do with computers? The problem of potentially offensive chemicals in computers lies within the case of your desktop or notebook and in the construction of its components.

Motherboards of almost all computers are manufactured in oxygen filled environments. Toxic and carcinogenic solder flux and many times even a toxic and carcinogenic washing solution to get the flux off the board, have to be used to manufacture the electronics.
Once the computer sits on or under your desk, these toxic chemicals can gas out when the computer warms or heats up and is then distributed in your work environment by the cooling fans.

So how does this affect you? You have made it this far in the article and probably aren’t feeling too ill I assume. While the chemicals from computers may not produce noticeable symptoms in everyone, that doesn’t mean there aren’t negative impacts on the body. Just because you don’t notice feeling ill, doesn’t mean your body isn’t having to expend extra energy to combat any side affects and “detox” your body from chemicals coming from your desktop or laptop.

In our Free E-Class “Secrets to Healthier Computing” you can learn more about how to avoid many of these toxic and carcinogenic substances that you can currently find in your computer.

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Much like the first Americans who experienced nuclear power, or a TV set in their home, the health repercussions of computers are not entirely known. It is a sobering thought that those who have spent their lives bathed in the glow of their monitors may find themselves decades from now in poor health, with conditions caused from any number of harmful emissions from their desktops, whether chemical or electromagnetic.

The Hot Topic

Like stilted houses on hurricane coasts, laptops of today seem to be climbing higher and higher off of workspaces in dorm rooms, offices and coffee shops. The “hot” issue with laptops is exactly this. Batteries in laptops run hot; sometimes so hot that they can cause the computer to shut down, that is, if the user can still handle the keys. As a result, these notebook computers are being hefted higher and higher off of their desks. Sometimes this is done with proper stands and other times with books or coasters, either way it is meant to allow for proper heat ventilation.

A recent report by Stephen H. Wildstrom on Business Week Online sheds more light as to why exactly most laptops run so hot. According to the article, the problem lies with the lithium ion batteries nestled inside of most modern laptops. Lithium ion batteries are great because they generate enough power to support high performance laptops with high processing speeds. However, as the battery meets the processor’s need for power, it heats up. This is mainly due to the fact that laptops are small, compact and very poor at allowing heat to escape from their innards.

While overheated laptops are certainly an inconvenience and uncomfortable to use, there are more potentially lethal and destructive surprises waiting within lithium ion batteries. Wildstrom says that lithium ion batteries rely on electronic circuits, a sort of fail-safe so to speak, to prevent violent chemical reactions. Unfortunately, as of late, these systems seem to be failing in the notebook computers of a couple major notebook manufacturers.

However, heat doesn’t seem to be the only problem facing the laptops of today. In order to compensate for the heat, cooling fans blast on at a high RPM, generating a noise that sounds like a fighter jet turning on its afterburners directly overhead.

While laptops are good for people when on the go, it seems that many people are simply using their notebooks all the time, even when seated at their home office, or designated workplace.

Because of this, the user’s productivity goes down due to the distracting blasts of noise from the cooling unit, his health is jeopardized and put at risk due usually poor ergonomic setup of the workplace and to the overheated batteries, when in reality, they could be using other methods of computing that would prove more productive.

Turning Green

So how are these problems to be solved? A better ergonomic choice is to use a notebook stand with an external keyboard and mouse to have a better physical position, with the notebook battery removed. However the noise and the higher level of radiation are still there.

What can be done?

The best choice is a silent and environmentally friendly desktop computer. The computer can be tucked away; the keyboard, mouse and monitor can be set up ergonomically. Ideally the screen is about 25 inches away. The top of the screen is at eye level. The keyboard and mouse are in a light color to keep the contrast difference to the monitor to a minimum and help reduce potential eyestrain.

Constant exposure to electromagnetic radiation due to not so well shielded computer cases and electronics increases stress levels as the body has to spend energy to maintain its own energy field. Once you start working with a well shielded and silent computer you’ll feel the difference very quickly.

A high quality, green and silent computer can also increase productivity up to 20%. Michael Kim of InspiredTraffic.com reported increases of 10 to 20% since switching to a GreenMachineShop.com desktop. He had been using mostly his notebook before. Now the notebook is only for the road. As a side effect, he reduced his electricity bill by about 30%. The silent computer made him turn off all other noise sources in the office. And he feels fresher after the work day is done.

He also reports that the TCO’03 compliant monitor causes much less stress to his eyes than before. The TCO’03 rating means that the monitors are built to the highest ergonomic and environmental standards.

To the best of our knowledge, GreenMachineShop.com’s desktops are currently the only truly “green computers.” Although many other companies say their computers are “green” because they offer a buy back program and eliminated heavy metals, mostly lead, this simply isn’t going to improve health conditions in the workplace or at home if the computers themselves are constructed in an unhealthy way.

The Next Step

Now its time for you to decide what is the best way to improve your surroundings. Think of your families or employees well being. Create the healthiest and most environmentally friendly computer workplace and reap the immediate benefits.

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PC World Canada tested some of the newer laptop chipsets/CPUs against their predecessors. Unlike the big performance boost the Core 2 Duo CPUs provide on desktops, there is only a minor performance boost (7%) on notebooks and no increase in battery life.

Click here to read the whole article

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Yesterday I saw an article by Meg Nugent of Newhouse News Service in the local newspaper about Computer Vision Syndrome.

Computer [tag-tec]eye strain[tag-tec] caused by low quality monitors, too much time spent in front of a computer monitor, or poor ergonomic setup, with reflection glare, etc.

The picture coming with the article shows a 4 or 5th grader hunched over a notebook, eyes about 4 inches away from the screen. The correct distance is about 25 inches. The correct distance for reading on paper – books, newspapers, etc. – is about 15 inches.

Rule of thumb: Sit arm length away from the monitor and the length of your forearm from all printed matter.

If you are using a notebook, that would mean your arms should be stretched, if you are an adult. Small kids can’t even reach the keyboard!!! Does it make sense to type with stretched arms?

What the article didn’t mention, eye strain can also be caused or additionally worsened by a black keyboard. Everybody, even people who type with 10 fingers, look up and down between keyboard and monitor. The contrast difference between a black/dark keyboard and the bright lit screen creates additional eye strain.

Being hunched over a notebook is causing bad posture, the spine is round, the head tucked between shoulders. Most people hunch over and then look up a little bit, while ideally the neck should be straight and the chin slightly tilted towards the chest. Hands and arms are all clawed in.

Being hunched over not only curves the spine and shortens the muscles in the front but also takes volume away in the chest and doesn’t the person to breathe freely.

If it has to be a notebook, please give yourself or your kid a break and use a notebook stand to get the screen into correct position and plug in an external keyboard to allow for an upright and ergonomic posture.

Make sure there is no reflection on the screen from windows, etc.
Your eyes, your whole body will say thank you and feel much fresher once your done working.

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If you are low on energy working with a notebook, I’m not surprised Notebooks are not ergonomic. The location of screen and keyboard strains, upper back, neck, eyes and shoulders. On top of that, they are usually not as well shielded as desktops, the electromagnetic exposure increases our overall “stress” levels. Stress means here not necessarily stress out, but the stress on the bodies energy, with higher fatigue after the work is done.

The only way to use a notebook is to use a docking station with external monitor, ergonomic keyboard and mouse, or a notebook stand to raise the screen off the desk and use external mouse and keyboard. And only occasionally “stand-alone”.

Heat: Many notebooks get really hot, i.e. that’s wasted energy. Desktops can operate much cooler -> less wasted energy. If the notebook runs off the battery, you wasted probably about 40-50% of the energy you put in.

First, the loss in the power supply, usually they are 60 to 80% efficient
Second, the battery is about 80% to 90% efficient.
You might use less power in total, but not in performance per watt.

Unless the battery is charged by a solar panel. But who has that setup?

Somewhere around 80% of the total energy balance of a computer is used to manufacture the components and to built the computer.

Desktops have a much longer life cycle. For example a GreenMachineShop desktop is built to run stable for 5 years. Due to the higher heat and the way the electronic is designed and components used, most desktops and notebooks are built to run stable for only 2-3 years. There is also a higher failure rate for notebooks. They need to be shipped back and forth. Parts in a desktop, if they break down can be replaced by off-the-shelf parts, the whole system doesn’t need to be replaced.

I highly doubt that the energy and environmental balance of a notebook comes even close to compete with a good quality desktop system. Especially now that the new low wattage AMD and Intel CPUs are available.

Desktops are also easier to recycle. Easier to take apart, steel can be just recycled. Many notebooks have a lot more plastic parts and take more time to take apart.

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The recent battery problems, facing a number of notebook manufacturers are not really a surprise as the http://blog.greenmachineshop.com/8/extend-notebook-battery-life-and-rake-some-health-benefits/
View »technology is not fully under control just yet. An online resource for battery information recommends to charge the battery to 40 percent capacity and store it in a cool place, when using a laptop plugged into an electrical outlet (see www.batteryuniversity.com, Part 2, BU34).

Unfortunately, many notebooks do not work with the battery unplugged. What can be done?

Is it time to rethink how we use notebook and desktop?

No question, notebooks are great for people who need mobile computing, but (too?) many people use them all the time, even when sitting at their desks. The higher heat shortens the lifetime of electronics and battery, the higher noise level and the not-so-ergonomic setup can reduce productivity and cause health issues. Using a desktop computer whenever possible and a laptop when necessary could be a better solution.

With more software and data available online at all times, it isn’t that difficult anymore to switch between computers. A little configuration allows almost seamless transitioning between them.

We have customer that report they are 10-20% more productive since they moved away from “all notebook” use and now use mostly a silent and better shielded computer. They also feel fresher and have more energy after a full work day.

Reducing muscle and joint strain in the hands, wrists, arms, neck, shoulders and back is a “common side effect” for people when they use less notebook and switch on to a better keyboard and monitor in the right location on the desk.

For all who want to find out more about noise, ergonomics and electromagnetic radiation, click here for our Free E-Class.

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