1. Purchase your hardware from a company committed to the environment. This is harder than it seems – pretty much all of the tech companies these days are trying to green some aspect of their business, but the truth is that building computers is hard on the environment – the plastics and metals used in these devices have to come from somewhere. I’d look for a company that tries to be carbon-neutral, like Dell – just make sure to read read the fine print.

2. Purchase low-power devices when possible and turn them off when you can. Laptops use much less energy than desktops, and most desktop computers stay on all the time. Anything that uses a rechargeable battery is going to use less power – they are designed from the beginning for conserving battery life.

3. Recycle – take your computer to a reputable computer recycler when you are done with it (FreeGeek here in Portland is a perfect example).

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Albee Kara is the owner of Faster Connections, Inc., which builds and maintains computer networks for small businesses and non-profit organizations in Portland Oregon. More about him and his business at http://www.fasterconnections.net