The existing, new and emerging hardware, software and communications technologies for energy saving and material reuse in ICT

Energy saving - Data Centres and Client Equipment

Computers and telecommunications equipment contributes about 2% to greenhouse gas emissions. Data centres and client equipment can be made more efficient.

Client Equipment

Client equipment (desktop computers and printers) consume more energy and materials than data centres. The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) suggest four steps for minimising energy and materials consumption:

1. Assess energy consumption by monitoring client equipment
2. Consolidate operating client equipment only when necessary and removing unnecessary equipment
3. Innovate by:
   1. Right-sized client equipment: do not buy more, or more powerful, equipment than needed
   2. Power management strategies: Turn off client equipment when not needed and turn on power management options in the equipment.
   3. Low-energy equipment: Select low energy component and equipment, such as processors, monitors, power supplies, RAM, flash memory and hard disks.
   4. Eco-Labels: Look for equipment meeting low energy standards.
4. Manage and monitor the equipment and schedule high energy activities out of peak periods.
   
   
   

   Materials Use

   Energy reduction is only part of making a Green ICT system, there is also the issue of use of materials and hazardous substances.
   

   E-Waste

   Electronic waste ("e-waste") is the material from unwanted electrical or electronic devices. Some e-waste can be sold for recycling and is described as "commodity" to distinguish it from "waste" which can't be reused. E-waste may contain toxic material is mostly not biodegradable.
   Many countries have regulations covering e-waste, including bans from landfill in Europe. Metals, including gold and silver make some e-waste commercially viable to reprocess.
   The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention) is an international treaty limiting the movement hazardous wastebetween nations, particularly from rich to poor nations. Australia, the EU and many developed nations apart from the USA have ratified the treaty.
   

   Australian Regulations

   Australia implemented the Basel convention with the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989. This regulates export, import and transit of hazardous waste within Australia. The 'Criteria for the export and import of used electronic equipment' assumes that electronic equipment is hazardous waste, until shown otherwise. Equipment to be re-used (after repair, refurbishment or upgrading) are not considered hazardous waste. Australian states have regulations on the disposal ofhazardous waste.
   

   Voluntary Programs

   Byteback is an Australian partnership between Sustainability Victoria, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), Apple, Canon, Dell, Epson, Fujitsu, Fuji-Xerox, HP, IBM, Lenovo, and Lexmark. It allows individuals and small businesses to deposit unwanted computer equipment atVictorian locations. Similar programs in other states.
   

   EPEAT

   The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a system for evaluating electronic products against 51 environmental criteria from the US based Green Electronics Council.
   The criteria are contained in "Standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products, Including Laptop & Desktop Computers & Monitors", IEEE 1680-2006.
   Products are ranked in three tiers:
   
   1. Bronze: Meets 23 required criteria
   2. Silver: Meets all required criteria plus at least 50% of the optional criteria
   3. Gold: Meets all required criteria plus at least 75% of the optional criteria
   Materials criteria are categorised as:
   
   1. Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials,
   2. Materials selection,
   3. Design for end of life,
   4. Product longevity/life cycle extension,
   5. End of life management, and
   6. Packaging.
   Energy conservation using US EPA Energy Star and Corporate performance with adoption of ISO 14001 are also criteria.
   

   Government Procurement using EPEAT

   US Government agencies are required to procure products which meet 95 percent of the EPEAT criteria under "Executive Order: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management". The Green Electronic Council have detailed the claimed "Environmental Benefits of 2007 EPEAT Purchasing" (Green Electronic Council, June 2008).
   The Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator (University of Tennessee, April 2008) was used to assess EPEAT. For 2007 reduction in use of primary materials was assessed at 75.5 tons, recudtion in toxic materials of 3,220 tons, and avoidance in the disposal of 124,000 metric tons of hazardous waste.
   The Calculator was sponsored by the U.S. EPA and estimates benefits, such as green house gas reductions, waste avoided, mercury eliminated for EPEAT purchases. Metrics used:
   
   1. Energy savings
   2. Greenhouse gas reduction
   3. Solid waste reduction
   4. Primary material savings
   5. Hazardous waste reduction
   6. Toxic material reduction
   7. Air emissions
   8. Water emissions
   The Calculator is provided as an Excel spreadsheet. Purchasing data input is the number and type of EPEAT products purchased. The tool calculates the environmental benefits from the EPEAT products in comparison with an average non-EPEAT product.
   
   
   
   

   Methods and tools

   Methods and tools can be used in the planning, development, operation, management and maintenance of systems for Energy saving and to plan Materials Use.
   

   Scope and methodology for analysis of the role of ICT in energy use

   The Climate Group, provide three appendices with the Scope, process and methodology (Appendix 1), The Direct Impact Assumptions (Appendix 2) and The Enabling Effect Assumptions (Appendix 3) for their SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age (June 2008).
   This is both for estimating the the carbon footprint of ICT and how it may be used to reduce emissions in other sectors by using ICT.
   The analysis measures emissions CO₂e, assuming, the ICT sector covered:
   
   • Personal Computers (PCs) and peripherals: workstations; laptops; desktops and; peripherals such as monitors and printers
   • IT services: data centres and their component servers; storage and cooling
   • Telecoms networks and devices: network infrastructure components; mobile phones; chargers; broadband routers and IPTV boxes.
   The study excluded consumer electronics in the home: TVs, video, gaming, audio devices and media players. Specialised electronic devices, such as medical equipment was also excluded. Different assumptions would need to be made for organisations in specific industry sectors. As an example, a games software developer could not exclude computer games and a hospital not exclude medical devices.
   

   Staged study

   The Climate Group carried out three phases of their study:
   
   1. Quantify the global impact of ICT: Models were developed for the direct footprint and the indirect (enabling) opportunities.
   2. In-depth case studies: Emissions reduction opportunities using ICT were developed.
   3. Assessment of imperatives for stakeholders: Workshops were conducted to investigate opportunities and barriers for: technology providers, technology users, investors andregulators.

   Direct ICT impact (footprint) methodology

   The Climate Group used published estimates of global emissions and penetration rates of ICT devices and infrastructure. Estimates of population growth were then used to calculate future emissions in 2020. Data was from public studies; academic and industry literature; the team experts, consumer surveys and interviews with external experts.
   The analysis attempted a "cradle-to-grave" estimate of carbon emissions: manufacture, transport, use and disposal of equipment.
   Embodied carbon: CO₂e in manufacturing of ICT components was calculated from public and company data. Embodied energy in end-of-life treatment: disposal, landfill and recycling, was included where data was available.
   Energy consumption of the components based on publicly available company data. An emissions factor was used to calculate the carbon emissions from energy consumption. The emissions from electricity generation vary depending on the technology used. The Climate Group divided the world into regions and used a different emissions factor for each region. Transmission losses in the electricity grid were similarly estimated.
   Market growth and penetration of devices to 2020 was based on industry reports and internal analysis. Growth in use of ICT and general industrial growth is more significant in developing areas of the world.
   

   Enabling impact methodology

   The Climate Group used a cost curve to identify emissions abatement solutions ranked by cost. The study concentrated on areas where emissions are significant: power; manufacturing; industry; transport; residential and commercial buildings; forestry; agriculture; and waste disposal. ICT applications were then assessed for use in reducing in emissions abatement on the cost curve. Four uses for ICT were then selected for detailed analysis.
   

   Direct impact assumptions

   The Climate Group were undertaking a high level global analysis and therefore used some very general assumptions in their analysis. As an example: 20% of desktops are workstations, Workstations consume 2.5 times desktop in all modes, Commercial usage of a computer is 14 hours/day versus consumer usage of three hours/day, Three types of servers: 200, 500, 6000W/unit. These assumptions are listed in "The Enabling Effect Assumptions" (Appendix 3) of the report. An analysis for an organisation may use locally developed estimates or actual measures, but may also use these same assumptions, in order to enable a direct comparison.
   

   Enabling effect assumptions

   The Climate Group made assumptions as to the effect ICT could have on other industry areas. As an example, it was assumed that Online media would replace DVDs and CDs. This assumed seven billion DVDs and 10 billion CDs globally were sold per year, with 1 Kg CO₂e per CD/DVD and all this would be replaced with network delivery of content by 2020. Similarly electronic documents were assumed to reduce paper use by 25%. Organisation based studies should be able to use better estimates or local measures of disk and paper use.
   

   Estimating Power Management Savings for Computers

   Computers Off Australia (COA) provide instructions to Configure power management for PCs(2008) and two versions of an Energy Savings Calculator, to estimate the resulting savings. The Consortium for School Networking provide an Energy Usage Calculator specifically tailored for schools.
   COA provide instructions to configure power management for operating systems including Apple Mac, Microsoft Windows XP and Vista. They recommend setting computers to enter system standby or hibernate after 15 to 30 minutes of inactivity and set monitors to enter sleep mode after 5 to 20 minutes of inactivity. On laptops, these need to be activated in the AC power profile, as well as battery power) profile.
   COA provide a Power Management Calculator. The web based form prompts for the number of Monitors and Computer boxes to be power managed and the price of electricity (with 12 cents per kWh as the default in Australian average), Hours in Workday and Days in Work week. Defaults are provided for the Active Power and Sleep Power (in watts) used by monitors and PCs. Estimates of the proportion of units power managed, Units Turned Off After Work are used and Tons CO2 are calculated.
   
   

THE USE OF MATERIALS IN A SELECTED ORGANIZATION by AZLIN AWATIF MOHD AMIR HAMZAH (10DNS11F1090)

Anyone who has glimpsed picturesque beaches or the rolling green hills and mountainous terrain showcased in films like "The Lord of the Rings" can imagine why New Zealanders value their country’s natural beauty and enjoy spending time outdoors. Competing in the 2011 Solar Decathlon and is comprised of Victoria University of Wellington students from the Schools of Architecture, Design, Marketing, Commerce, Tourism Management, and Building Sciences. Their entry is titled First Light because “New Zealand is the first place the morning light shines at the start of a new day,” and it conveys the students’ pride in their country to attendees on the National Mall in Washington, DC, all the way on the other side of the world. In fact, First Light is the Solar Decathlon’s first and only entry from the Southern Hemisphere.
http://buildipedia.com/go-green?gclid=CIvyzauomasCFcEc6wodHGSliQ

THE IMPROVED ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN GREEN COMPUTING

Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment." The goals of green computing are similar to green chemistry; reduce the use of hazardous materials, maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote the recyclability or biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste. Research continues into key areas such as making the use of computers as energy-efficient as possible, and designing algorithms and systems for efficiency-related computer technologies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing

SOFTWARE AND DEPLOYMENT IN GREEN COMPUTING

Algorithmic efficiency

The efficiency of algorithms has an impact on the amount of computer resources required for any given computing function and there are many efficiency trade-offs in writing programs. As computers have become more numerous and the cost of hardware has declined relative to the cost of energy, the energy efficiency and environmental impact of computing systems and programs has received increased attention. A study by Alex Wissner-Gross, a physicist at Harvard, estimated that the average Google search released 7 grams of carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, Google disputes this figure, arguing instead that a typical search produces only 0.2 grams of CO₂.

Resource allocation

Algorithms can also be used to route data to data centers where electricity is less expensive. Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and Akamai have tested an energy allocation algorithm that successfully routes traffic to the location with the cheapest energy costs. The researchers project up to a 40 percent savings on energy costs if their proposed algorithm were to be deployed. Strictly speaking, this approach does not actually reduce the amount of energy being used; it only reduces the cost to the company using it. However, a similar strategy could be used to direct traffic to rely on energy that is produced in a more environmentally friendly or efficient way. A similar approach has also been used to cut energy usage by routing traffic away from data centers experiencing warm weather; this allows computers to be shut down to avoid using air conditioning.

Larger server centers are sometimes located where energy and land are inexpensive and readily available. Local availability of renewable energy, climate that allows outside air to be used for cooling, or locating them where the heat they produce may be used for other purposes could be factors in green siting decisions.

Virtualization

Computer virtualization refers to the abstraction of computer resources, such as the process of running two or more logical computer systems on one set of physical hardware. The concept originated with the IBM mainframe operating systems of the 1960s, but was commercialized forx86-compatible computers only in the 1990s. With virtualization, a system administrator could combine several physical systems into virtual machines on one single, powerful system, thereby unplugging the original hardware and reducing power and cooling consumption. Virtualization can assist in distributing work so that servers are either busy, or put in a low power sleep state. Several commercial companies and open-source projects now offer software packages to enable a transition to virtual computing. Intel Corporation and AMD have also built proprietary virtualization enhancements to the x86 instruction set into each of their CPU product lines, in order to facilitate virtualized computing.

Terminal servers

Terminal servers have also been used in green computing. When using the system, users at a terminal connect to a central server; all of the actual computing is done on the server, but the end user experiences the operating system on the terminal. These can be combined with thin clients, which use up to 1/8 the amount of energy of a normal workstation, resulting in a decrease of energy costs and consumption. There has been an increase in using terminal services with thin clients to create virtual labs. Examples of terminal server software includeTerminal Services for Windows and the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) for the Linux operating system.

http://green4computer.blogspot.com/2011/05/materials-recycling.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing#Power_management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing#Telecommuting

http://www.enotes.com/topic/Green_computing#Software_and_deployment_optimization

TELECOMUCATING

Teleconferencing and telepresence technologies are often implemented in green computing initiatives. The advantages are many; increased worker satisfaction, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related to travel, and increased profit margins as a result of lower overhead costs for office space, heat, lighting, etc. The savings are significant; the average annual energy consumption for U.S. office buildings is over 23 kilowatt hours per square foot, with heat, air conditioning and lighting accounting for 70% of all energy consumed. Other related initiatives, such as hotelling, reduce the square footage per employee as workers reserve space only when they need it. Many types of jobs, such as sales, consulting, and field service, integrate well with this technique.

Voice over IP (VoIP) reduces the telephony wiring infrastructure by sharing the existing Ethernet copper. VoIP and phone extension mobility also made hot desking more practical.

MATERIALS RECYCLING OF GREEN COMPUTING

Recycling computing equipment can keep harmful materials such as lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium out of landfills, and can also replace equipment that otherwise would need to be manufactured, saving further energy and emissions. Computer systems that have outlived their particular function can be re-purposed, or donated to various charities and non-profit organizationsHowever, many charities have recently imposed minimum system requirements for donated equipment. Additionally, parts from outdated systems may be salvaged and recycled through certain retail outlets and municipal or private recycling centers. Computing supplies, such as printer cartridges, paper, and batteries may be recycled as well.

A drawback to many of these schemes is that computers gathered through recycling drives are often shipped to developing countries where environmental standards are less strict than in North America and Europe. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that 80% of the post-consumer e-waste collected for recycling is shipped abroad to countries such as China and Pakistan

Unfortunately, in 2011, the collection rate of e-waste is still very low, even in the most ecologically advanced countries like France. In this country, e-waste collection is still at a 14 % annual rate between electronic equipments sold and e-waste collected for 2006 to 2009

The recycling of old computers raises an important privacy issue. The old storage devices still hold private information, such as emails, passwords and credit card numbers, which can be recovered simply by someone using software that is available freely on the Internet. Deletion of a file does not actually remove the file from the hard drive. Before recycling a computer, users should remove the hard drive, or hard drives if there is more than one, and physically destroy it or store it somewhere safe. There are some authorized hardware recycling companies to whom the computer may be given for recycling, and they typically sign a non-disclosure agreement.

DISPLAY OF GREEN COMPUTING

CRT monitors typically use more power than LCD monitors. They also contain significant amounts of lead. LCD monitors typically use a cold-cathode fluorescent bulb to provide light for the display. Some newer displays use an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of the fluorescent bulb, which reduces the amount of electricity used by the display. Fluorescent back-lights also contain mercury, whereas LED back-lights do not.

VIDEO CARD OF GREEN COMPUTING

A fast GPU may be the largest power consumer in a computer.

Energy efficient display options include:

    No video card - use a shared terminal, shared thin client, or desktop sharing software if display required.

    Use motherboard video output - typically low 3D performance and low power.

    Select a GPU based on low idle power, average wattage or performance per watt.

STORAGE OF GREEN COMPUTING

Smaller form factor (e.g. 2.5 inch) hard disk drives often consume less power per gigabyte than physically larger drives. Unlike hard disk drives, solid-state drives store data in flash memory or DRAM. With no moving parts, power consumption may be reduced somewhat for low capacity flash based devices.

In a recent case study, Fusion-io, manufacturers of the world's fastest Solid State Storage devices, managed to reduce the carbon footprint and operating costs of MySpace data centers by 80% while increasing performance speeds beyond that which had been attainable via multiple hard disk drives in Raid 0. In response, MySpace was able to permanently retire several of their servers, including all their heavy-load servers, further reducing their carbon footprint.

As hard drive prices have fallen, storage farms have tended to increase in capacity to make more data available online. This includes archival and backup data that would formerly have been saved on tape or other offline storage. The increase in online storage has increased power consumption. Reducing the power consumed by large storage arrays, while still providing the benefits of online storage, is a subject of ongoing research.

POWER SUPPLY OF GREEN COMPUTING

Desktop computer power supplies (PSUs) are generally 70–75% efficient, dissipating the remaining energy as heat. An industry initiative called 80 PLUS certifies PSUs that are at least 80% efficient; typically these models are drop-in replacements for older, less efficient PSUs of the same form factor. As of July 20, 2007, all new Energy Star 4.0-certified desktop PSUs must be at least 80% efficient.

OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT OF GREEN COMPUTING

The dominant desktop operating system, Microsoft Windows, has included limited PC power management features since Windows 95. These initially provided for stand-by (suspend-to-RAM) and a monitor low power state. Further iterations of Windows added hibernate (suspend-to-disk) and support for the ACPI standard. Windows 2000 was the first NT based operating system to include power management. This required major changes to the underlying operating system architecture and a new hardware driver model. Windows 2000 also introduced Group Policy, a technology which allowed administrators to centrally configure most Windows features. However, power management was not one of those features. This is probably because the power management settings design relied upon a connected set of per-user and per-machine binary registry values, effectively leaving it up to each user to configure their own power management settings.

This approach, which is not compatible with Windows Group Policy, was repeated in Windows XP. The reasons for this design decision by Microsoft are not known, and it has resulted in heavy criticism. Microsoft significantly improved this in Windows Vista by redesigning the power management system to allow basic configuration by Group Policy. The support offered is limited to a single per-computer policy. The most recent release, Windows 7 retains these limitations but does include refinements for more efficient user of operating system timers, processor power management,  and display panel brightness. The most significant change in Windows 7 is in the user experience. The prominence of the default High Performance power plan has been reduced with the aim of encouraging users to save power.

There is a significant market in third-party PC power management software offering features beyond those present in the Windows operating system. Most products offer Active Directory integration and per-user/per-machine settings with the more advanced offering multiple power plans, scheduled power plans, anti-insomnia features and enterprise power usage reporting. Notable vendors include 1E NightWatchman., Data Synergy PowerMAN (Software), Faronics Power Save and Verdiem SURVEYOR.

POWER MANAGEMENT OF GREEN COMPUTING

The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), an open industry standard, allows an operating system to directly control the power-saving aspects of its underlying hardware. This allows a system to automatically turn off components such as monitors and hard drives after set periods of inactivity. In addition, a system may hibernate, where most components (including the CPU and the system RAM) are turned off. ACPI is a successor to an earlier Intel-Microsoft standard called Advanced Power Management, which allows a computer's BIOS to control power management functions.[citation needed]

Some programs allow the user to manually adjust the voltages supplied to the CPU, which reduces both the amount of heat produced and electricity consumed. This process is called undervolting. Some CPUs can automatically undervolt the processor depending on the workload; this technology is called "SpeedStep" on Intel processors, "PowerNow!"/"Cool'n'Quiet" on AMD chips, LongHaul on VIA CPUs, and LongRun with Transmeta processors.

PRODUCT LONGEVITY OF GREEN COMPUTING

Product longevity plays an important role in all the stages of the life of a product—right from design to the end-of-life phase. The longer a product is in use, the fewer the numbers of that particular product that need to be created as well as disposed of.

As natural resources are already limited and fast depleting, it is imperative for companies to develop and create products which possess higher longevity in their green initiatives in order to ensure sustainability in the long run. Product longevity helps in ensuring the intelligent utilization of resources in the manufacturing of products and solutions. E-waste is a growing global issue as millions of computers are discarded into landfills and many raw materials used in their manufacture like lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium are harmful if they seep into the soil and groundwater. Therefore, a well made product would last longer than a less durable one that needs to be replaced sooner.

Definition of Green Computing

>  Green computing is also commonly referred to as Green IT. The idea is to have least human impact on    the environment. Apart from this, it aims to achieve environmental sustainability.

> Green computing is the environmentally responsible use of computers and related resources. Such practices include the implementation of energy-efficient central processing units (CPUs), servers and peripherals as well as reduced resource consumption and proper disposal of electronic waste (e-waste).

> In simple language, green computing is the scientific study of efficient and effective designing, manufacturing, using, disposing, and recycling of computers and computer related products like servers, network systems, communication systems, monitors, USBs, printers, etc. The study uses science to create technologies that would help preserve natural resources and reduce the harmful impact on the environment.

Current ICT technology and practises into organizational processes and manegement by MARSITAH BT MUHAMMAD (10DNS11F1064)

  ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs in education, health care, or libraries. The term is somewhat more common outside of the United States.

  According to the European Commission, the importance of ICTs lies less in the technology itself than in its ability to create greater access to information and communication in underserved populations. Many countries around the world have established organizations for the promotion of ICTs, because it is feared that unless less technologically advanced areas have a chance to catch up, the increasing technological advances in developed nations will only serve to exacerbate the already-existing economic gap between technological "have" and "have not" areas. Internationally, the United Nations actively promotes ICTs for Development (ICT4D) as a means of bridging the digital divide.

Purchasing Eco-Friendly Products for the Workplace

Using certain products in the workplace can cut down your waste, energy use and thus your impact on the environment. An evaluation of the products used at work can also save some company money. Here’s how: Buy energy-efficient light bulbs. Start using compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in screw-in fixtures instead of incandescent bulbs. These bulbs use a third of the amount of electricity of incandescent bulbs and last ten times as long. Using a CFL will save you money over its lifetime. It will use less electricity, give off less heat and produce fewer emissions. Although CFLs had some problems when they were first available, the new CFLs do not hum, can be used almost any incandescent bulb fixture, and produces that warm incandescent-style glow. When searching for lighting, look for the Energy Star symbol. Energy Star qualified lighting uses about 75 percent less energy than standard lighting and produces 75 percent less heat. Use recycled paper goods. Buying recycled paper goods conserves trees, water, oil, energy and cuts down on emissions.  According to the U.S. Department of Conservation, for each 20 cases of recycled paper used; 17 trees, 390 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of water, and 4100 kilowatt-hours of energy are conserved. Using recycled paper also eliminates 60 pounds of air-polluting emissions and saves eight cubic feet of landfill space. Look for the recycling symbol (three chasing arrows in a triangle shape) within a circle when buying paper goods. Don’t confuse this logo with the chasing arrows standing alone, which only indicates a product can be recycled after use. The arrows within the circle mean the product is made with recycled paper or “post-consumer content.” Try to buy the paper with the highest post-consumer content. When buying paper products, avoid buying bright white paper. The chemicals used in bleaching this type of paper are extremely toxic and contribute significantly to water pollution.  Choose eco-friendly cleaning products. Cleaning products can be hazardous to your health and the environment. Try to buy eco-friendly products, avoid using chlorine-bleach and read the labels on all products. Shop around and determine the least toxic way to get the workplace clean. When buying cleaning products, read the information labels carefully. Words such as “natural,” and “eco-safe” are not regulated by the government and don’t officially mean anything. There are, however, some keywords in the fine print of products to note. Look for the words “poison,” “danger,” “warning” or “caution,” on the labels of products. These keywords are required by the federal government to warn consumers of hazardous chemicals. “Poison” or “danger” is of the highest concern and means that ingesting very small amounts of the product can be fatal. “Warning” means the product is moderately toxic. “Caution” denotes a product that is less toxic. Other warnings include “corrosive” products that can damage skin and mucous membranes and products with a label noting a “strong sensitizer,” which contain a chemical that can increase allergies. Additionally, when buying sponges and rags look to buy durable goods made out of natural materials.

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GREEN COMPUTING

Green computing: conserve energy, help protect the earth

Around the world, energy costs are rising. In the UK, for example, an average-sized data centre uses more power in a year than the city of Leicester¹.

And where does that energy go? In a majority of the world’s data centres, over 60 percent of a data centre’s energy is used for cooling the IT equipment². Soon, it will actually cost more to power and cool a server over its lifetime than to buy it in the first place.

If companies want to be in business in the future, they will have to change the way they use power. Based on experience gained in the data centres of countless companies, as well as its own data centres, HP can help cut energy costs by as much as 50 to 60 percent. These power savings can have a profound impact – resulting in financial gains for IT operators and customers while giving the planet a badly needed environmental break.

Reduce energy consumption and costs

This technology adjusts data centre air conditioning settings to direct where and when cooling is required.
So how can data centres provide the IT services needed to power the business without living at the expense of future generations? How can we make computing more ‘sustainable’?

HP can realise vast savings in cooling energy costs by combining mechanical thermo-fluid engineering and computer science. But these gains are only achieved by cutting energy consumption and reducing the environmental impact at every level. For HP, sustainability means exploiting all power conservation opportunities in a data centre: from the small processor chips inside the servers to large data centre air conditioners. We call this approach: ‘chip to chiller.’
After a decade of investing in research and development, HP has received more than 1,000 patents for advances in power and cooling technology. That is why Gartner research calls HP “the most vocal and visionary of the main server hardware vendors in addressing the issues.”³ HP’s BladeSystem c-Class servers use 30% less power than regular rack-mount servers and their ‘active fan technology’ – inspired by the jet engine - uses 50% less power than conventional cooling fans.

‘Virtualisation’ is a set of tools and technologies that facilitates the pooling and sharing of these resources. It results in better utilisation and, therefore, lower power costs.  Virtualisation is another way that HP makes it possible to save on material, energy and green house gas emissions. It is an important step towards IT consolidation.

Cool savings

What if you could allocate computing workloads to the coolest locations in the data center?
To meet the ultimate challenge of getting the right power and cooling to the right place at the right time, HP scientists have broken new ground with Thermal Assessment Services and Dynamic Smart Cooling.

Thanks to sophisticated modelling tools, HP’s thermal assessment determines the unique thermal conditions for high-density server and storage equipment. It begins by creating a three-dimensional ‘map’ of the data centre – showing how much, how often, and exactly where air conditioners are blasting systems with cold air.

The first solution of its type, Dynamic Smart Cooling is an ‘intelligent’ air conditioning system for an entire data centre or server farm, no matter how big.  A network of thousands of tiny sensors deployed on IT racks measures air temperature in real time. The sensors direct cooling only to the places in the data centre that really need it. 

Green storage

Creating a unified power-management solution.
Storage networks consume 15 percent of total IT energy spending. They are a good place to save money without losing functionality or security. Tape is cool – up to 99% cooler than disk backup. HP Ultrium tape solutions reduce power and cooling costs while providing reliability tested in the most extreme conditions on earth. With lower heat output, tape drives can be packed more closely together. That saves space without raising cooling costs.

In and out of the data centre, HP innovations are helping companies around the world realise the economic and environmental benefits of comprehensive energy-wise strategies. HP is also leading the way by reducing the energy impact of its own operations caused by its use of fossil fuels and electricity. HP and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are engaged in a joint initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from HP’s worldwide operating facilities. They are leveraging HP technology to advance the science and practice of adapting to climate change.

These bold moves have put HP on track to reduce its worldwide energy consumption 20 percent by 2010

Green Computing: Recycling

We spend a lot of our time talking about waste – how to reduce, reuse and recycle it, and how to dispose of the left over bits. This is not a discussion you can simply label green or sustainable – it is a discussion about the survival of things we hold dear: planet, people, and freedom.

Electronic waste (eWaste) is one of the most controllable pieces of the waste stream. Recycling eWaste is easy; recycling eWaste morally and ethically takes a bit more work.

What is electronic waste? Any cell phone, computer, monitor, printer, CD, battery, television or other business or consumer electronics device, including cables. When disposed of improperly, these materials contain elements that work their way into our water table. The elements are also rendered non-reusable as they are blended in with other waste and lost.

What can be recycled? Darned near everything! A few key examples:

• Computer monitors (CRTs) contain an average of 4 lbs. of lead, a lot of reusable glass, chromium and mercury. All of these elements can be extracted and reused. For example, our recycler takes the glass from old monitors, and sends them to Samsung for use on flat screen monitors and TVs.
• CDs/DVRs contain gold, glass, plastic, nickel and other elements that are completely recoverable and reusable.• Batteries – everything from the batteries that power your phone, laptop, and mouse can be recycled, whether single-use or rechargable.
• Computers, printers, TVs, microwave ovens, power strips, lamps, and all other electronic items.

                                                                     

THE GOAL OF GREEN COMPUTING

There are other goals of green information technology, most notably at the design and manufacturing stages. In all cases, four main aims are:

• to cut down to as little as possible the amount of energy used.
• to minimize the inclusion of harmful materials.
• to use as many biodegradable materials as possible.
• to extend as far as possible the life of the equipment.

Energy-Saving Computers

• Energy-saving computers are increasingly being promoted, not least by respected bodies that each apply ratings to the products in the marketplace.
• One such organization is The Green Electronics Council. Federal agencies in the US are obliged to purchase equipment that qualifies under this council’s ratings scheme.
• Meanwhile, in the UK, government use of IT is under an obligation to obey a target by next year of being carbon-neutral.
• Measures like these improve the green credentials of the IT industry on a broader scale, as governments set an example for the commercial sector.
• But more importantly, there are tax incentives for industry and commerce to adhere to environmentally favorable goals.

PC Manufacturing Stage – a Resource “Eater”

• It is at the manufacturing stage, naturally enough, that a PC most consumes natural resources.
• Hence, extending the life of the equipment is easily the best method of reducing the impact on the environment of computer production.
• Better to manufacture a new RAM module for the user to upgrade his PC than to compel that user to acquire a new computer.
•  Energy -saving measures extend to the devising of algorithms that use up fewer computer resources. Put simply, algorithms play an important role in program optimization, which, in turn, concerns itself with keeping computing efficient.
• Where this really impacts on the environment is by deploying less electrical power. This is where programmers play a vital part.
• When they write code they are in a position to make decisions about the algorithms to use. The software’s efficiency depends above all on the designer’s choice of algorithm

The regulation and industry initiatives towards Green Computing (NUR NAZIHAH AHMAD RIDZUAN, 10DNS11F1065))

Every big change begins from small initiatives. For instance, we started some of the

simple but effective initiatives like setting the power options on your computer or in phones

to switch to sleep mode when it's not active. When you're going to be away from your PC for

more than a few minutes, setting it to stand-by mode and turning off the monitor will save a

huge amount of energy.

      Besides, it will reduce energy usage, which also reduces carbon dioxide emissions and your energy bill, is the most effective thing we can do. The average PC wastes about half the energy provided to it, according to the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, an industry group dedicated to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. We should encourage employees to shut down their PCs or put them into sleep mode when not working on them and the energy will reduce. 

Reference ;

http://www.sersc.org/journals/IJGDC/vol2_no3/4.pdf