Green Computing?

Everything is going green, even computing, but what exactly is “green computing”? Wikipedia defines green computing as “the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently.” The problems addressed by green computing are increasingly complex and include but are not limited to the disposal of electronic waste, energy use, carbon free computing, telecommuting, and thin client solutions. All the major computer manufacturing companies are working on ways to make their products “greener” and providing solutions for companies with their existing systems. IBM has committed to a number of goals in reducing energy consumption with Project Big Green. To conserve energy they are implementing more intelligent design and more efficient cooling systems that may use liquid instead of air to cool. Fifty-five to sixty-five percent of power coming into data centers is from HVAC systems and lighting. IBM has created a "cold battery" to improve data center chillers, it can turn from a liquid into a solid, the temperature at which it turns to a solid can be set and can use less energy when charging up. The battery also holds power better than a traditional cooler and can be charged at night when it is cooler and utility rates are lower.IBM also claims to have become the first company to recycle 1 billion pounds of IT equipment last fall, and will continue recycling 40,000 systems per week. Solar power is one of the alternative energy sources. Solar powered computing is less polluting, more affordable, more reliable and more flexible for a wide variety of new markets, applications and environments. Some advantages of solar power are a clean non-polluting energy, silent operation, virtually free energy once the capital cost has been covered, no refueling, self sufficient, highly reliable, and virtually maintenance free. Carbon free computing is an idea to reduce the carbon footprint of users. This is the amount of greenhouse gases produced measured in units of carbon dioxide. VIA calculates how much carbon dioxide emissions will be released into the environment and the work with regional offset organizations to offset that amount of carbon dioxide. Some offsets are reforestation alternative energy, and energy conservation. Some benefits of carbon free computing are fulfilling corporate social responsibilities, eligibility for sales and tenders with green requirements, enhancing green working environment for employee comfort and morale, and raise awareness of energy conservation for further cost savings. Telecommuting is also an interesting way for companies to help "go green". By allowing their employees to work from home even a couple days a week helps companies cut down on power costs and saves gas and time on the commute. This doesn't solve the problem of cooling the servers but every little thing helps. Telecommuting reduces an individual’s carbon footprint by reducing the daily commute. Thin client computers are yet another way to help a company go green. A thin client does not store anything within it; instead it sends everything to the server for storage. Regular PCs pass only data to the server and store everything at the terminal instead. A thin client uses 70% less energy than a regular PC and can last longer. The topic of green computing is very vast and with the push from every direction for environmental responsibility this concept will only grow.