Internet Metering and A Low Bandwidth Green Wizards

David Trammel's picture

Madam Oh (aka Pat Ormsby) posted this:

"I'm not sure how long I'll be able to participate. Japan will make smart meters mandatory next year, and I am very badly affected by them. I have no problem living without utilities, but it will be much more difficult for me to work, let alone stay in touch. But I'll drop by when I can."

How then can we make visiting Green Wizards less energy intensive with either visiting the site in a shorter period of time, or cut down on the bandwidth it costs to view it?

We are dealing with two factors, electricity and internet connections. Cutting down electricity use would mean getting on, getting the information quickly in a form you could read offline. Internet connections, aka bandwidth restrictions, would probably mean some way to cut down on how many megabits it takes to view the site. I love having pictures with the comments but they do add to the amount of bandwidth you expend view Green Wizards. I'm sure their is a way to stop the pictures from loading, I just don't know how.

Several of the sites I read have a weekly newsletter, which covers the subjects discussed that week. Perhaps I could come up with such a newsletter and subscription option.

Thoughts or suggestions?

Blueberry's picture

IMHO if you cut back somebody will just suck up the bandwidth. Use it until it crashes. I am always down loading stuff before it is gone. I use 500gb 2.5 inch hard drives and make 2 copies. My music library is like 2 TB. Still buy CDS and then rip them to hard drives.

David Trammel's picture

I perhaps was a little unclear, I know the ISP's in my area all now offer Internet service with a limit on the total bandwidth you personally can use a month for a lower cost than unlimited. As things rise I expect many Green Wizards will need to cut back on expenses, one of which is their Internet.

Most of the pictures here are in a 15-25 meg range if I remember correctly, and while most computers will cache photos when they first see them, that's a lot of bandwidth over a month. I need to redo all of them from jpegs to pngs, that ususally drops their size significantly.

That's one of the grips I have with always load videos on many news sites. Even if I don't view them, they steal bandwidth. That's like ads.

I'm like you, with tons of access and storage but not everyone is.

Justin Patrick Moore's picture

I think a newsletter is a great idea to start now. It can be an e-newsletter done through mailchimp. Later it could become the basis for a print version, or a version of the content sent out on occassion if ability to host a whole site becomes intermittent/undoable. Content could still be sent out via email on a list even if access to the net isn't regular anymore.
It's kind of a shame that so many of the "yahoo groups" (of which I was a member of many) aren't as active as they once were (not sure if you can still create a new one there.) Facebook imploded the listservs. Has there been talk ever of a green wizard email listserv?
I'm not sure what the best schedule would be -but if we are collapsing before the rush- this is an area we could work on in the present.

I agree - a newsletter is a great idea (and I use MailChimp for work and can recommend it).

ClareBroommaker's picture

Not sure I understand what the topic is. Is this this question from Patricia O about electricity smart metering? If so, how is that likely to change internet usage?

No, I don't think so. If I recall correctly, she has an adverse reaction to always-on electronics and wi-fi--which is what smart meters use to transmit info to their HQ. Whereas metered internet access means limiting the amount of bandwidth you get for the money you pay. As Net access becomes more costly, people may be forced to use less.

David Trammel's picture

I relooked at what she said:

"It has taken me months to get over here. Last year, I received an implant that left me with such terrible brain fog (severe electrosensitivity) I could barely manage to perform my translation work on a computer, with frequent breaks. Now I've had the problematic part of the implant removed, and am back to normal. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to participate. Japan will make smart meters mandatory next year, and I am very badly affected by them. I have no problem living without utilities, but it will be much more difficult for me to work, let alone stay in touch. But I'll drop by when I can.

Pat Ormsby over on JMG's Ecosophia"

Which does indicate she is going to have problems with the meter's effect, not cutting her internet time down.

David Trammel's picture

It will change her Internet usage as she is going to be forced to cut back on her electricity usage. It won't effect us at all, but if electricity prices go up, then more people may be forced to cut back on their's as well.

Sorry if I wasn't clearer.