Green Options » video games

Hypermedia and High Blood Pressure in Kids

Cate Nelson — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:27:16 +0000

Of course we know that childhood obesity is a problem. And children who are obese often have higher blood pressure.

But a new study shows a link between the amount of screen time a kid has and high blood pressure, no matter what size the child is.

We’ve known from previous studies that sedentary behaviors are linked to obesity, and that obesity is linked to high blood pressure, but this is the first time that we’ve linked those behaviors directly to elevated blood pressure.

The real worry here is that these kids only averaged 1.5 hours of TV a day, less than the two hours max that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. It’s all the other “sitting around” behavior that can lead to high blood pressure.

TV-Addicted 2 Year-Olds Don’t Even Know Their Own Names

Derek Markham — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 06:03:51 +0000

Toddlers in the UK could be screened for speech problems because many are so addicted to TV and video games that they fail to learn basic communication skills.

According to an article in the Telegraph, “barely a 10th of children in some areas can repeat even one nursery rhyme and, in extreme cases, some do not even know their own name.”

Turn off Your Video Game, Save a San Diego’s Worth of Energy

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:46:43 +0000

Which would you rather have: your Sony Playstation 3 or a year’s worth of electricity for the entire city of San Diego?

Silly question? You might not think so after reading the Natural Resources Defense Council’s new study, “Lowering the Cost of Play: Improving Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles.” Prepared with the help of Ecos Consulting, the report finds that energy inefficiencies and poor practices like not turning off games that aren’t in use are wasting huge amounts of energy and generating lots of greenhouse gases.

This is the first time anyone’s taken a hard and comprehensive look at the energy and carbon footprint of video games, and the findings might surprise you:

CFLs in Plain English

Maria Surma Manka — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:04:47 +0000

I just had two super-efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) burn out on me, which surprised me since they’re only about a year old. Then again, my husband does leave the bathroom light on a lot…. At any rate, the rest of my bulbs are still going strong, even after several years for most of them. Here’s a great video on CFL 101.

Tip of the hat to Dave over at e-Strategy blog.

This story contains additional media. Click here to view the media.

Green Video Games

Alex Ho — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:24:15 +0000

Global warming and saving the environmental has recently been a very hot topic in the media. It was only a matter of time before it entered the video game industry. There are plenty of games that are filled with action and violence that get attacked and get blamed when you hear about kids and violence in the news. Maybe if we hear about kids doing something good for the environment, we can contribute it to playing video games as well.

In Second Life, you are able to plant virtual trees for 300 Lindens ($1.50 real world cash) where Second Chance Trees will take all the proceeds and plant real life trees in exchange for each virtual tree planted. There is another game called Global Warning developed by Midori, a small development company based in France that allows you to choose a character and make decisions to live a greener life while saving the world. Microsoft is teaming up with a nonprofit group called Games For Change and will be sponsoring a contest for college students to develop a game based on global warming. The goal is to raise awareness and educate while also entertaining. Another game by Adventure Ecology involves Dash and his sidekick Bay as they battle adversaries in their quest to rid pollution and defeat global warming. The genre of "serious" video games that raise awareness about issues such as global warming and poverty is a great way to use video games as a learning tool.

This reminds me of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. If you aren’t familiar with Captain Planet, it was a cartoon back in the 90’s where a combination of five ring powers summons Captain Planet to help the five planeteers fight eco-villains. The show also featured "Planeteer Alerts" that ends each episode with a tip on what you can do to help the environment. I am sure there will be another eco-friendly cartoon that will come out soon or maybe even a new Captain Planet that looks much cooler.

Nintendo Wii Uses Less Power than XBOX or PS3

Amy Stodghill — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:43:59 +0000

Image source: hardCOREware.net

hardCOREware.net, a site devoted to in-depth reviews on consumer electronics, recently compared gaming consoles. But this wasn't just any old test comparing games or special features, they were testing power consumption.

The results: Nintendo Wii uses significantly less power than the PC, XBOX 360 or Playstation 3. Wii comes in at just 18 watts, compared to the average of 200 watts of its competitors during video game play. Even in idle mode, Wii wins hands down.

Since the Wii is leading in console sales over XBOX 360 and PS3, it looks like gamers everywhere are doing their part to conserve a little energy.

Via engadget

Read more about the study at hardCOREware.net