Even the dumbest of all computer users knows that using one, even for an hour or so a day, is not really good for the environment. Not just because it’s made from plastic parts, runs on coal-fueled grid power and requires a hell lot of power to keep the servers working, but also because a running computer emits heat and CO2 which contributes to global warming and is slowly killing our planet. However, Total Geekdom’s Mike Schropp has come up with a way to use the amounts of life cycle carbon your computer contributes to the environment to grow a patch of wheatgrass.
Using a donated, old Pentium 4 CPU-fitted computer, the designer created a mini kitchen garden atop the computer case using Plexiglas components worth around $20. When you run the inefficient unit, the soil filled heat pipes absorb the heat and provide enough heat to germinate and grow the wheatgrass. The effect is similar to what happens in a greenhouse and you can use the wheatgrass in your meals as well.
As novel as the idea is, however, it really isn’t the kind of thing that will help you solve the global warming problem and it certainly won’t help you cut down your grocery bills either. But having patch of actual green sitting atop your polluting CPU might be a much more refreshing sight than having a screensaver depicting the same.
Via: Dvice