Distance Learning and the Greening of Our Planet

Posted on January 28, 2008 by Jennifer Brady

A week (or so) ago I saw an item that implied great benefits to planet Earth via distance learning advances which reduce travel and, as such, cut down on CO2 emissions. But there was no data available in support of the assertion. But today I found this item at CMP’s ChannelWeb site. Entitled, “Web Conferencing Tool Measures Carbon Savings,” it is chiefly about a specific commercial web conferencing product that automatically calculates CO2 emission reductions each time people use it to meet online rather than in person. [For the record, this blog doesn’t endorse any commercial products. But I endorse the novel concept and the innovative technology used in this solution.]

Of great interest in this article – and which has direct relevance to distance learning – was this segment about the CO2 emission reductions achieved by a private company in the distance training and enterprise learning space:

Global Knowledge Training, a privately held provider of training and enterprise learning services for IT and management professionals, has used Green Meter to track the environmental impact of its distance learning programs. The company found that it prevents more than 4.4 million points of CO2 from entering the environment each month. Since 20 pounds of CO2 equals burning one gallon of gasoline, that means Global Knowledge saves more than 200,000 gallons of gas per month.

We can easily see how distance learning could positively impact the environment by cutting down on gas used in commuting to class along as well as simply occupying less space on campus which could drastically cut down on electricity, heat/air conditioning etc. So beyond the benefits of anywhere, anytime learning, we can add the potential benefit of a reduction in the world’s environmentally unfriendly gas emissions.

Comments

One Response to “Distance Learning and the Greening of Our Planet”

Heard It on the Grapevine » UMassOnline Blog on July 10th, 2008 2:34 pm

[…] commenting on this trend for quite some time. Jennifer Brady blogged on the related topics of distance learning and the green movement back on January 28th and soaring gasoline prices on June 16th. Please note that UMassOnline is […]

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