 One of the most common questions that I get asked is why do I run the Linux operating system as opposed to proprietary operating systems like Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, etc. And the way I want to answer that today is, as a long-time Linux user, one of the things that I'm most proud about is the fact that by me using Linux, I have really made a difference as far as helping the environment. I have really made a difference simply by being a Linux user when it comes to helping the environment, helping save the environment. Many people don't realize this, but Linux is actually considered an environmentally-friendly operating system. Some people call it a green operating system, and certainly it is in comparison to the proprietary operating systems like Windows and Mac. Using a free operating system like GNU slash Linux, it really reduces waste because there have been estimations that as far as the numbers of computers in the world, there's around 2 billion computers actively in use right now. And by computers, I'm talking about actual computers. I'm not talking about mobile phones. I'm not talking about all those smart devices out there. Those are going to number in the billions as well. But let's talk about the personal computers out there, just the standard computers that are out there in use. If there's 2 billion of those, the average lifespan of a computer we know to be about three years, which means one-third of those 2 billion computers are heading for the dump, right? They're heading for a recycle station or a landfill every year, and one-third of 2 billion, if my math is correct, that's around, you know, 666 million devices, computers that are heading to the landfill every year. That is a ton of waste. That is a massive amount of environmentally unfriendly waste heading to your landfill. And even before these computers actually reach a dump site, they were already harming the environment anyway. Just in their building process, the fact that these computer manufacturers have to spend so much in power consumption and water consumption to actually build these machines for us. Speaking of power consumption, anybody that has a few personal computers at home or a home server, you guys know about power consumption because you guys see your electric bill. You know, these devices suck up so much electricity, and when you have that many in use, of course, it is hard on the environment. We can only have so many of these devices in use before we start experiencing brownouts, for example. In the last few years, environmentalists have really been railing against the use of crypto mining because crypto miners, of course, are very hard on our electrical grid. But getting back to the disposal of these computers, you know, in their disposal, they're even more wasteful than they were when they were actually in use at somebody's house or at a server farm, because when these things go to the landfill, they release all kinds of dangerous toxins. They release, you know, battery waste. We're talking about things like lithium and cadmium and mercury and lead, and they're putting all of that into the ground poisoning our soil for generations. So is there a solution to this problem? Yes. GNU slash Linux is the solution by running GNU slash Linux distributions because of their minimum resource requirements and their free costs. You know, you're really helping reduce drastically reduce e-waste. Many organizations today are actively involved in trying to refurbish computers and give a new life to some of their old machines, like at their office buildings and things like this. And the way they achieve this mostly is simply by installing GNU slash Linux on these old computers that were running things like Windows and Mac. Now, I spoke earlier about the power consumption of computers and how hard it is on the environment. Thousands of megawatts of electricity are wasted every year just due to computers that are idling. Think about that. Computers not even doing work. They're just idling. And one of the great things about Linux is Linux has many power saving features built into the kernel. One of the things is that the kernel is it's a configurable system and you can configure things like a tick list kernel as well as native hybridization activities as well as virtualization capabilities. You can do all kinds of things that will actually improve power consumption on a Linux device. You can do so much with Linux kernel configuration. You gen2 guys of course know this because so many of you guys configure your own kernel, but you can make that kernel as lightweight and as slim and as echo friendly as you want it to be. And this is maybe the greatest strength of Linux. Now a little real world talk here. I see so many people out there that love to talk about saving the environment and the reducing carbon emissions, combating climate change, et cetera, et cetera. And you know, most of these people I see out there fighting this kind of fight, you know, they typically are college age students. They have that kind of activist mindset and they're really wanting to go out there and change the world, you know, fight for the environment. And then they're sitting there at Starbucks drinking their half calf soy latte with a double shot of vanilla syrup. And they're sitting there browsing the web on a MacBook. Now Apple is probably the most echo unfriendly company on the face of the earth. And why are so many of these college age kids and again, these are the demographic that really are of the activist mindset and are probably most fervent as far as wanting to save the environment. They all run MacBooks. You know, I'm not too far from a university. I see it. They all have MacBooks. They all have iPhones. And I just find it sad that the college crowd, you know, the age group that again, they typically are the ones that are most fervent, most committed when it comes to these kinds of fights. They have bought into Apple and proprietary operating systems in general, not just, you know, MacBooks, but also Windows. Many of these people have never actually been told how Linux could actually save the planet. One thing, Linux doesn't employ the use of planned obsolescence. What is planned obsolescence? That is where a computer manufacturer sells you a device knowing that it's going to be obsolete within two, maybe three years. And then you're going to have to come back and buy another one of their devices so they make more money. They don't care that all of those perfectly good devices are now going to a landfill and spoiling the environment. They don't care. All they care about is making money. So Apple is the king of planned obsolescence. They love releasing Macs, Mac computers. And then a couple of years later, releasing a new version of Mac OS, the operating system. But you know what? It doesn't support our older equipment because we have better hardware requirements now or higher hardware requirements for our operating system. Those old MacBooks, they can't run the new Mac OS. So you need to go buy a new MacBook. Same thing with the iPhones. The latest version of iOS will not run on that old iPhone you bought three or four years ago. You need to upgrade to a better iPhone, the new iPhone. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with these devices. These devices are perfectly capable of still operating if a company supports them. And that's one of the things Linux being a community operating system, right? The Linux kernel is all about community and all these GNU slash Linux distributions. Most of them are completely built by the community and Linux can save all of these old computers, old devices, tablets and phones. They can save them from the landfill because these computers that people are throwing away after three or four years. I put Linux on machines that are 15 years old sometimes. I have literally put Linux on dozens. I'm not even kidding. Dozens of other people's machines. They bring me their old Windows laptop that no longer works because Windows is also another operating system that loves planned obsolescence. You know, what Windows 7 would work on Windows 10 will absolutely not run on. So now, you know, these people think they have to throw away their Windows 7 laptop so they can go buy a new laptop that'll support Windows 10 or the upcoming Windows 11. And you don't have to do that because there is a way to save those old computers. Simply install Linux on them. Now, I'm not the kind of person that constantly talks about saving the environment. I'm not very vocal about it, but I am happy that I have done my small part. And that's the beauty of not just Linux, but the Linux community. You guys are doing your part too simply by running Linux. You are helping make a difference. So many people think that saving the environment and doing their part and helping the environment requires like massive lifestyle changes and it's a lot of work. No, simply by running a free operating system like GNU slash Linux rather than an eco unfriendly operating system like Windows and Mac makes a gigantic difference. If right now you are running Linux, you are making the world a better place. You're changing the world for the better. And I commend you for it. Now, before I go, I want to thank a few special people. I want to thank the producers of this episode. Gabe James, Mitchell Paul, Scott Wiss, Akami Allen, Chuck, Commander Angry, Diokai, David, Dylan, Gregory, Heiko, Lee, Maxim, Mike, Nitrix, Erion, Alexander, Peace, Arch, and Fodor, Polytech, Raver, Red Prophet, Steven and Willie. These guys, they're my highest tier patrons over on Patreon. Without these guys, this show would not have been possible. The show is also brought to you by each and every one of these ladies and gentlemen as well. All these names you're seeing on the screen. These are all my supporters over on Patreon because I don't have any corporate sponsors. I'm sponsored by you guys, the community. If you like my work and want to help support me, please subscribe to DistroTube over on Patreon. Alright guys, peace.