How The Computer Industry Has Become More Eco-Friendly

There are significant developments that have come from the technology sector in the last few years when it comes to going green and being environmentally conscious. Global warming and a whole host of other environmental issues are a major concern around the globe and it’s no wonder that the computer industry has made efforts of their own. New Zealand launched an ambitious plan to get 90% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. Kohl’s, JC Penny and Office Depot have announced green building plans. General Electric has doubled sales from environmentally friendly products in the last few years.

Computers are difficult to recycle which is a problem considering that computers are made with a decent amount of lead, cadmium, brominated fire retardants and plastics. Processor speed has followed Moore’s Law causing energy use to increase. Out of the $250 billion spent around the world annually powering computers, an estimated 85% of that energy was wasted idling. As a result, computers have been blamed for causing as much global warming as the airline industry.

Fortunately, the computer industry has been working on going green the last few years. Computers have sophisticated power saver and hibernation modes as well as laptops that don’t drain the battery as fast. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have been adopted on a large scale and they represent a substantial savings over the less-efficient cathode ray tube (CRT) technology.

Dell made it their goal to become the first major computer company to become carbon neutral, which means reducing emissions across all Dell facilities and operations, as well as buying renewable power and offsetting the remaining balance. This has been done partly through a cooperative tree-planting program. Dell also holds their suppliers accountable for their emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a report showing that data centers in the United States have the potential to save up to $4 billion in annual electricity costs by using more energy efficient equipment and operations, in addition to management best practices.

Intel, Dell, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and sun Microsystems joined with the Environmental Protection Agency, the World Wildlife Fun and other similar groups to develop an ambitious industry-wide goal of cutting down on the amount of energy computers consume.

Next time you’re on the market for a new computer, choose an energy star compliant computer by making sure the computer of your choice has the energy star label. Many computer users don’t realize that if your computer is plugged in, it is continuing to use electricity even if it is off or in standby mode. A computer uses up to 10 watts when it is turned off but still plugged in. Plug all your electronics into one power strip so you can easily switch them all off when they are not in use.