Green Computing Brings Environmental Benefits and More

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Green computing has drawn people from all over the world into becoming one global community. Businesses have become more dynamic, while friends and families from all over the world are kept even closer. Almost everyone has benefited from all that can be shared and transmitted in real time with less environmental aggravation, which is contrary to what was previously feared.

During the 1997 International Energy Efficiency Appliance Conference, Dr. Alan Meier from, Lawrence National Berkeley Laboratory, announced that standby energy used by computers accounts for 1 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. As a matter of fact, the U.S. alone, accounts for more than 97 billion pounds of carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere every year.

Studies have shown that almost half of the electrical energy drawn out of the wall by a typical desktop computer is being wasted because energy hardly reaches the processor, the hard drives, the memory disks and other peripherals.

Now, consider the advent and use of Energy Star-compliant computers, the availability of smaller amd thinner monitors for less energy consumption, and the surge protectors which automatically cut-off power that is not in use. They may have minimal effects as stand-alone equipment, but if multiplied by the millions of users on a global scale, these green computing technologies reduce electrical energy consumption and likewise lessen CO2 emissions

Super computers, data centers, and servers have greater impacts on the environment compared to the desktop PCs. Yet they are able to operate in our midst by harnessing green technologies and make possible better business and working conditions like telecommuting, offshore outsourcing and paperless meetings. All of which are geared toward maintaining and sustaining the advantages of green computing for a better environment on a global scale.

Image Credit: Everaldo Coelho and YellowIcon for Wikimedia Commons

1. Green computing helps minimize CO2 emissions by using green technology and IT systems that harness renewable energy sources, instead of drawing out power from fossil-fueled electric grids.

Focus your attention on the enormous data centers that consume as much as 150 watts per square foot in a typical 9,000 square foot structure with three storey levels. In fact, economists called them “energy hogs” and their estimates foretell of increasing CO2 emissions four-fold by 2020.

Computer giants in the industry currently utilize greener resources and harness green technology to lessen if not minimize their carbon footprint.

IBM and its “Aquasar” Cooling System- The closed circuit cooling system has an energy efficiency of about 450 megaflops per watt while the system uses hot water to reduce the power consumption of the supercomputer stationed at the "Swiss Federal Institute Technology Zurich". The thermal power contributes additional energy of nine kilowatts to the building’s heating system.

As a note, megaflop is the unit of measurement for computer speed, stated as: “A million floating point operations per second”.

HP Labs Data Center in a Dairy Farm – Rural areas are where animal manure power is abundant and HP Labs Design is utilizing a "Farm Waste Data Center Ecosystem". This refers to a farm of 10,000 cows that provide methane gas to power up a typical modern data center and the dairy farm. In addition, the data centers help the other rural famers get rid of their farm wastes.

Google’s Sustainable Operations – Google, which thrives on data centers is well-known for being at the forefront of advocating the benefits of green computing.The company's data centers rely on Google-designed edifices that utilize only half the energy used by a typical data center. Accordingly, the energy used per Google search consumes only about 0.0003 kWh with roughly about 0.2g of CO2 emission. Google is out to prove that sustainability in energy use is possible and is quite active in encouraging other data centers to do the same,

Please proceed to the next page for the benefits that can be derived from green computing initiatives.