I occasionally run into many seasoned legal professionals around the Washington DC area working on big corporate cases. In almost every encounter, there is a conversation about the massive size of files (.doc, .xls, .ppt,..) they receive from their clients. They include hard drives, cd’s/dvd’s, flash drives, and even back-up tapes. Yes, I said back-up tapes.
Some of you tech savvy people who already know what is a back-up tape, just hold on for a minute, while I explain…. All the information that is central to your job is backed up. Depending on the type of IT budget your company has allocated in preserving your data, the information you work on is saved on or off site, real-time, daily, weekly, monthly, or whatever your IT data retention policy states.
WHy is this conversation so critical? Back-up tapes can range in size that’s why. Let’s start with a 250 GB back-up tape, the standard size of a desktop hard drive these days. Let’s assume that each file on your tape is about 1/4 of a MB (250 KB), filled with all types of office files (word docs, power point, excel spreadsheet, etc..). Now you are talking about 1,000,000 files easily just off one tape.
Here is how we relate this ‘legal-tecky’ conversation to Sobuka:
If the average file is 5 pages, that’s already at 5,000,000 pages (10,000 realms – 500 pages/realm)! Try printing that out to your favorite Xerox machine. You’d be in the office for the next 20 days non-stop. RainForestMaker.org calculator estimates this as cutting down 720 trees. I am trying to figure out how may trees Noah’s Ark used up to save the world. Because for just one back-up tape, the size of a regular computer HD, all the trees on our planet (~ 400 billion) would be in jeopardy, a subtle but trend-like Armageddon.
We should be thankful that the legal industry already knows this is not practical but even more from a financial standpoint. They have utilized technology throughout the years to help take snapshots of files by producing them into tiff images, jpegs, and even ‘natively,’ thus reducing the need for paper.
Let us know how your business or industry is saving trees. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The legal industry is saving trees
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A Groupon for the greenie in you
A Groupon for the greenie in you – GreenDeals.org
Posted on January 10th, 2011 by Daniel
In case you haven’t heard, Groupon, a web-based coupons seller for various local businesses, is making a killing with its business model. So much so in fact, that it declined a $6B offer from Google! Its amazing success in this market has left the doors wide open for plenty of other competitors with a similar model, thus giving customers like you and I more choices for discounted coupon deals to enjoy.
The latest addition to this market comes from the good folks at Green America, a network of eco-friendly and socially responsible businesses. The site is GreanDeals.org, and it focuses on bringing customers green-related coupon discounts from the vast network of Green America approved businesses. The site was launched in November 2010 at the San Francisco Green Festival, after conducting beta testing with over 100,000 users (via GreenBiz.com).
The success of the Groupons of the world does show that customers are willing to wait for discount bargains on items that they may have overlooked in the past. From our experiences at sobuka.com, financial concerns are stated as the biggest barrier to entry when it comes to go green. If green related deals are packaged and presented successfully, there is no reason why GreenDeals.org can’t break through the barrier and move more customers to eco-friendly alternatives while shopping.
Tags: green america, green coupons, Green Shopping, greendeals.org, groupon
This entry was posted on Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Featured Content, Green Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Go Green with recycled paper
We would like to congratulate Autumn from Glenn Dale, MD, our big winner of December’s Green Photo of the Month contest, with a $50 prize, and it was SUPER EASY. Here is how it went…Autumn was shopping for Christmas gifts when she realized that her Target giftcard was attached to recycled paper made from renewable energy and 100% post-consumer fiber which is definitely “green” related. So a light bulb went off and she ripped out her camera phone and went snap…snap and finally she emailed it to Sobuka’s Green Photo Contest.
Thanks again to everyone that participated in our contest! To take part in the next one, check out the details below:
It’s easy to Go Green and WIN with Sobuka!
Submit one picture that you took of something green (environmentally friendly technology, service, process, etc.). Remember to tell us where it was taken, and why you think it’s green related. Email your photo to contest [at] sobuka [dot] com. Happy shootin!
This entry was posted on Friday, December 31st, 2010 at 7:43 pm and is filed under Featured Content, Green Photo of the Month. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Are you taken public transportation?
For the past two and a half years, John has been commuting back and forth from Washington DC to Baltimore, a 100 mile round trip. Until one day home, John got into a car accident. (Don’t worry he was not hurt.)
After the accident, he was trying to figure out how much he would save by just taking public transportation, a much cleaner alternative than driving. So one day he drafted the following questions along with his responses to analyze the cost of public transportation vs driving? The follow is his analysis:
1.) What time does my job start and end?
John’s response: 8am to 4:30 pm.
2.) Are there bus routes, rail, or combo-metro routes leading from my home to work?
John’s response: Yes. I can take the DC metro, bus F4, from Prince George’s Plaza Station to New Carrollton Station (MD). Then from New Carrollton, I can take the Marc Train to Baltimore Penn Station.
3.) Is the cost of driving a new car effective anyway?
Cost of Driving:
- Cost of comprehensive insurance per month: $200.00 (before the accident)
- Cost of fuel per week given 100/mile day commute: $40.00
- Cost of monthly parking pass: $110.00
- Other factors for John to consider:
- Purchase a minimal, new reliable car: $vary
- Maintenance and service on new car: $vary
Total monthly cost to work by car, not including vehicle purchase or M/S: $390.00
Cost of Public Transportation:
- Monthly transit pass (Bus + Rail + Marc included): $250.00
- Other factors to consider:
- ZipCar: Rental for $7.00 an hour for after work activities.
Total monthly cost for John to take public transportation to work: $250.00
This is a difference of $140.00 that John would save if he rode public transportation.
Have you carefully looked at your own commute from a financial perspective? How much would you be saving or spending?
Tags: DC Metro, MARC, New Carrollton, Prince George's Plaza, SmartTrip, ZipCar
This entry was posted on Friday, December 31st, 2010 at 1:14 am and is filed under Environment, Featured Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Good Jobs & Green Jobs National Conference
Register Now for the 2011 Conference
With less than two months to go, it’s time to register and book your hotel (out-of-town-folks) for the 2011 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference.
The 2011 Conference takes place February 8-10 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration is only $175.
The Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference is the leading forum for sharing ideas and strategies for building a green economy that creates good jobs, reduces global warming and other environmental problems, and secures America’s economic and environmental future.
For more information, please visit GreenJobsConference.org/
Monday, December 27, 2010
Energy Policy and Technology Outlook Conference
The 2011 State Energy Policy and Technology Outlook Conference, hosted by NASEO and ASERTTI, will be held on Monday, January 31 – Thursday, February 3, 2011, at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C. This year’s Conference comes as a historic number of new governors and legislators take office and will serve as an essential opportunity for State Energy Office directors, staff, and interested stakeholders to hear the latest on economic development, technology transfer, innovative financing, and clean energy technologies.
To better prepare and inform conference attendees, NASEO and ASERTTI have planned a full week of informative events, with the core conference agenda being complimented by a State Energy Office National Energy Orientation and NASEO regional meetings starting at 10:00 am on Monday, January 31, 2011.
Session Highlights
- State and Federal Roles in Supporting Successful Energy and Environmental Policies and Regulations
- The Changing Landscape of Sate Energy and Economic Development Policy
- Collaborative State, Federal and Private Energy Innovation Investments
- Shale Gas: Economic Opportunity, Environmental Challenges, and Best Practices
- Residential Retrofit Innovation: Program Design, Training, and Customer Engagement
- Cutting-Edge Commercial, Residential, and Industrial Energy Efficiency Financing
Meeting Information
- Preliminary Agenda
- Sponsor / Exhibitor Information (coming soon)
- Hotel Information & Directions
- Hotel Reservation Deadline: Monday, January 10, 2011
- Online Registration
Full Registration: $565 (Members), $595 (Non-Members)
Daily Registration: $275/day (Members), $300 (Non-Members)
For more information on any of the above events, contact Shemika Spencer, 1414 Prince Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314, Phone 703.299.8800; Fax 703.299.6208. Information on additional Energy Related Meetings can be found on www.EnergyMeetings.com.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Our Changing Oceans by NCSE
National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is pleased to present its 11th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Our Changing Oceans on January 19-21, 2011 in Washington, DC. Our Changing Oceans will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
This year, the conference will provide a forum to address the crisis facing our oceans, new knowledge and innovative tools to address the challenge, and the policy and governance needed to restore and protect the oceans.
Expecting over 1,000 attendees, Our Changing Oceans will bring together scientists, professionals, policy makers, university faculty and students, and educated citizens from a wide range of disciplines to share their perspectives and work to address the topic at hand.
NCSE utilizes a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to convene involved scientists and decision-makers from various sectors of society. Our conferences include renowned speakers, topical symposia to explore issues more in depth, and breakout sessions to develop a set of recommendations on how to advance science and connect it to policy and decision-making.
Our Changing Oceans is divided into eight themes, each with several breakout sessions and symposia. To view a complete agenda of the conference, please go to http://communities.earthportal.org/ncseoceans2011/. To find out about the themes and sessions, please visit the site. Once you have selected the sessions you would like to attend, make sure to register. We hope to see you in January!
For more information please visit http://communities.earthportal.org/ncseoceans2011/.
