News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Apple staffers reportedly rebelling against open office plan by freehunter on Tuesday August 08, 2017 @11:46PM (#14965380)
I worry about how much it increases my environmental footprint. I have an entire house of climate control being used for the sake of one person. I have lights in the house being used for one person. Sure I don’t commute by car, but I’m willing to bet commercial HVAC systems are more efficient per person and commercial lighting systems are more efficient per person and all of the other things that go into an office are more efficient per person when they’re being shared by 100+ other people.

I haven’t done any math on it, but it’s something I do worry about.

Re:Apple staffers reportedly rebelling against open office plan by hodgesrm on Wednesday August 09, 2017 @12:49AM (#14965629)
This depends on a number of factors, including where you live and how long your commute is.

In California electricity is increasingly generated by renewables (~25% in 2016) with the goal of hitting 50% by 2030, which looks achievable. We actually have a surplus of renewables during the late afternoon that can cause power prices to go negative. Between this and conservation measures like insulation the impact of home energy use does not look that high. It's also getting better over time.

The big problem in California is transportation, which is still petroleum-based autos. You don't commute by car but many people do. Knocking that out is one of the best things you can do to combat global warming. For example my commute, which is about 50 miles generates between 60 and 80 pounds of C02 daily assuming 3-4 gallons. That's assuming a fuel-efficient car. (Fortunately I only do it a couple of days a week.) At some point the car will be electric but mass replacement of the fleet is still a long way off.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_California

Re:Apple staffers reportedly rebelling against open office plan by Clubber on Tuesday August 08, 2017 @11:55PM (#14965428)
Turn off your central and get a window unit and a desk fan for your home office. I don't run central most of the time because it's expensive.

You could always cool of the way God intended, sweat your ass off. :)

Re:Apple staffers reportedly rebelling against open office plan by bamboozled on Wednesday August 09, 2017 @03:07AM (#14966192)
It sounds like most of what you're worried about could be mitigated pretty simply.

Use a smaller heater, solar panels, LED globes etc.