Jane and I just bought a laptop. Of course we wanted the greenest one that we could afford. So we settled on the Toshiba A500.
We considered the Sony Vaio. Last year Green Peace gave the Vaio strong marks in its Green Electronics survey, which assesses hazardous material use, waste and energy.
I called OTA, a Toronto electronics repair company, whose services I’ve used. I wanted to know what brand is easiest to repair. The fellow I spoke to warned that parts for Sony laptops are hard to come by. He advised purchasing a Toshiba. They tend not to breakdown as much as other brands, and when they do their parts are easier to find.
Green Peace dubbed Toshiba Protégé R600 the greenest. It’s also the most expensive with a price tag at $2,000 (cough and sputter), up there with Mac laptops - which we really don’t need.
Gold, Silver or Bronze
The other green gadget gage is EPEAT, which rates environmental attributes according to Gold, Silver and Bronze. According to EPEAT, the Toshiba A500 rates Gold. With this rating, and the thumbs up from the computer-repair guy, we bought this model.
We also invested in Futureshop’s service plan. Through the plan, they clean the machine every year, helping to safeguard its longevity.
After all, it’s not really green if we have to replace it after a few years. Futureshop will also recycle it once it goes to laptop heaven.
In the News
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Canada ranked last in G8 on climate action
Oxfam dubs climate change greatest threat to humanity
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