The Greening of SL

I would imagine that some of us recycle out there in the "real" world. We may have energy efficient light bulbs, water saving toilets -- a few of us might even have compost piles. But how does our energy awareness translate into SL? For the most part it seems it simply doesn't! In a fantasy world where everything was perfect we would have no need for energy conservation and global warming wouldn't be a worry at all. But SL is a closer mirror to RL than we sometimes think. I went out this morning to see what I could find in the way of a GREEN SL.



First and foremost we have Etopia -- Etopia Island 190/58/22 -- a long time eco-village here in our virtual world. "Etopia Island is a showcase for individuals, organizations and businesses who want learn about creating a socially and environmentally sustainable world." It is a fun place to explore with gardens, a tram that takes you to a mountaintop (shown at right) as well as a automated trolley of sorts that goes around the island and stops here and there. Don't forget your ticket.

There is no flying in Etopia, but you can grab a free bamboo bike and journey along bike paths, over hills and dales -- you get the idea. You can rent apartments there as well and there are shops scattered about.


Aside from a few other interesting spots not related to this article, I found very little in the way of alternative energy in SL.

I did find some wind and solar sales items at Turtle Island.

I need to mention (at the gals insistence) that I am wearing Fumes shirt and Winter Weekend Camo pants from the House of Zen, 150 mph Sunglasses from Digital Dragon, and Harness boots from Shoes Simply Shoes. Just in case any guys out there care (sigh).


I also ran across a real life company presence in SL which was both surprising and fun. They seem to sell electric converters. I came across a few houses with solar panels, and I found some wind generators made by the owner, but there was a notable absence of environmentally friendly items uncovered in my wanderings.

Of course it REALLY doesn't matter. We, in theory won't run out of energy in SL. Still, if we loose site of the issues of RL in our virtual one, we might find ourselves without the power to run our high end computers.

You can find solar panels for sale at Etopia (sorry I couldn't find the spot exactly). Both panels and wind generators are available at Turtle Island mentioned above and Samara Studios garden shop -- Gembong West 158/167/21 .