IT is greener

Does recycling increase consumption?

2012-06-27T17:59:00.002+02:00

Does readily available recycling cause increased consumption? According to a recent study out of UC-Irvine (#Kiron), yes it does.

In order to come to this conclusion, the authors ran two separate experiments. In the first, volunteers were divided into two groups - one with recycling bins and one without – and asked to test a new pair of scissors by cutting different shapes out of paper. The group with recycling bins used, on average, almost twice as much paper as those without. In the second study, a recycling bin was placed in a restroom on a university campus that previously only had a trash can. After the recycling bin was installed, paper towel usage increased.

One theory put forward for why this occurs is that the availability of recycling might counteract the guilt that comes from over-consumption and wastefulness. If the products are being recycled, then you don’t really feel like you are wasting them. Sort of like the rebound effect, except that instead of reducing monetary costs, you are reducing emotional costs.

We should note that the study only tested free resources. If these were products that had an actual cost to the end user, we probably wouldn’t have seen a consumption increase. Of course, we didn’t expect an increase in the free scenario either, so hopefully there will be a follow up study soon.

Another interesting factoid from this study (yes we read the whole thing) is that the average office worker uses 10,000 pieces of copy paper annually. This number seems absurdly high to us: assuming you work 50 weeks per year (at five days per week) that comes out to 40 sheets of paper per day. Have any of you out there ever used this much paper? If so, what kind of work were you doing?

Mike Tyson's Punch House

2012-06-18T23:33:00.000+02:00

We already covered gamification once, but we recently came across another example that is too good to ignore. A few weeks ago at the Cleanweb Hackathon in Boston 16 teams of programmers spent the weekend creating applications that attempt to monitor and increase the efficiency of energy usage. The winning application was a game called Michael Tyson’s Punch House, and if that name doesn’t sound familiar (and awesome) to you, then your parents didn’t love you.

To play, you upload your daily Green Button data (more on that in a minute) to the site and your house is randomly matched up with another of similar size. Your energy usage data scrolls across the bottom of the screen as the two houses duke it out. In the end, the house with the lowest cumulative energy usage during the day scores a K.O., while the loser can try to use less energy tomorrow and return for a rematch. We think it would be even more fun in real-time but that doesn’t seem practical.

Green Button is a data standard that allows consumers to download and view their utilities consumption data in a simple, easy to understand format. A list of participating utility companies can be found here. In addition to punch house, green button data should allow developers to create a range of different applications aimed at energy efficiency and awareness.

Inter-continental Solar Flights

2012-06-15T13:56:00.002+02:00

So what about solar flights?

About a week ago, Solar Impulse attempted and successfully completed its first inter-continental solar flight which took place in Europe including our home base, Madrid!! This is one step closer to attempting its goal of achieving a 24 hr flight. Not bad...

This made big news as solar energy and more complex technologies are being used to prepare the world in its transition from moving away from fuel and other traditional-based energies and moving towards greener and sustainable energy solutions.

However, the solar aircraft faced headwind which hindered the its attempt to cross Morocco. So although this technology has made remarkable advancement in the last few years, it still faces other struggles including speed (40 miles/hour), weight and power capacity (four 10 horsepower electric motors & 12,000 solar cells);

Clearly, the technology hasn't reached the point where it can be used for chartered flights or mass use, but let's see where it goes in the future. After all, you wouldn't drive a Model T in 2012 would you?

Check out the best moments from Solar Impulse's Madrid-Rabat flight;

Power Walk

2012-06-13T20:14:00.003+02:00

No, we’re not talking about what your grandmother does at the mall on Sunday mornings. We’re talking about actually generating power while you walk. A Kenyan inventor has created a device that generates power from the bending of the sole of your shoe. A small chip is inserted into the shoe and the output can either be directly sent to your device via a cable or stored for later charging.

At first it seemed odd to us that the inventor is from Kenya, but the more we think about it the more it makes sense. In more developed countries, there is probably much better access to electricity so the need really isn’t there, but in Kenya keeping your phone charged is likely a more difficult task. Not only does this help solve the problem of intermittent electricity access, but it does so in an environmentally friendly way.

We’re sure it feels weird to run a cable up the leg of your pants, but for those of us who walk a lot and have crappy Samsung phones, it could be really useful.

Green Joke of the Day

2012-06-07T19:59:00.000+02:00

"How many climate sceptics does it take to change a lightbulb? A: None. It's too early to say if the light bulb needs changing." - Robert Butler, environmental blogger Q

Ecofont: Good idea. Bad Execution?

2012-06-07T16:30:00.000+02:00

What is ecofont?

Many people are concerned about wasting paper when printing, but until now I’ve never heard much concern about the amounts of ink and toner that are used. A Dutch company called SPRANQ has recently created a new font called Ecofont that places tiny circles inside of characters in order to cut down on ink use when printing. An independent test found that it does reduce ink usage and costs when compared with many common fonts such as Arial and Calibri, but is actually slightly less efficient than Century Gothic. Ecofont also appears to be pretty wide , so while you might be saving ink you will also be using more paper.

Even if it isn’t as good as advertised, it’s still an interesting idea. And it brought an issue to my attention that I had never considered before: choosing a font that minimizes ink and paper usage.

The gamification of conservation

2012-06-04T18:06:00.000+02:00

You can already beat your friends at sports and video games, so why not beat them at conserving energy too? A recent project conducted in the Netherlands called Energy Battle pitted teams of students against each other in an effort to win prizes by cutting their energy usage. The winning team managed to cut its usage by a whopping 45%, while all of the teams involved cut, on average, 24%.

A start-up called SimpleEnergy is bringing a similar approach to the market in the United States. It reads your utilities usage and allows you to compete with friends via a Facebook app to see who can save the most energy. Even if you don’t manage to bring home one of the prizes (ranging from gift cards all the way up to Ipads), you’ll still feel like a winner the next time you get your electric bill.

Can you think of any other interesting ways that gamification could be used to encourage people to be more environmentally conscious?

Sustainability

2012-05-31T11:12:00.000+02:00

Corporate sustainability has become a big issue lately, with large companies trying to balance their need for constant growth and expansion with the need to account for environmental concerns and sustainability. It seems like every day I see a press release from yet another company announcing that it will begin disclosing its greenhouse gas emissions, or commit to using recycled materials. Even Walmart has a list of long-term goals that includes getting 100% of its energy supply from renewable sources, and creating zero waste. Both of these seem a long way off, but it still surprises me that Walmart is considering these issues. Why is this happening now? What caused the shift?

Does Walmart see growth slowing in the future due to market saturation or a slowing of population growth? Maybe this is an attempt to influence Wall Street and shift expectations---from future growth targets that they know they can’t match---to sustainability. Or do they actually really care about the environment?

Gerd Leonhard has a different take: he believes that the “sharing economy” (i.e., airbnb and Zipcar) will soon extend into collaborative consumption of energy sources as well, and that the shift from a competition-based economy to a collaboration-based economy, one that rewards sustainability, will occur within the next five years. That seems like an optimistic estimate to me but hey, I’m not a futurist.

A fascinating video that touches on a number of other topics as well, take a look:

Good News Everyone

2012-05-24T23:00:00.000+02:00

We have introduced social sharing option to our blog so you can easily share posts on your favorite social networks.

PS: do not forget to feed fishes in a pond located on the bottom of the page.

Is your PC green?

2012-05-24T10:02:00.001+02:00

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the electronics you bought were green? Possibly as green as the bamboo keyboard (scroll to previous posts to read about it). When searching to purchase a product, you consider price, functionality, battery life, customer feedback and eco-friendliness. It can also be highly influenced by ads. You'll find that many electronics brands selling TVs, PCs and the like constantly - what feels like - brag about their environmental friendliness, when it may not be true.

Green labels appeared in the 70s when manufacturers were required to meet minimum energy standards. Some brands adjusted their standards, while others (*ehem* we mean most) didn't. Instead they decided to stick fake labels indicating that they were green! Take PCs for instance, you'll find the “Energy Star” logo which appears when you power your computer. This means it is a low power consuming product. Unfortunately, any company can place this logo since the industry isn't well monitored. And so it becomes almost impossible for consumers to find the REAL eco-friendly products! Or is it possible?

Hungry for the answer? Read on!

Greenpeace offers a great solution! Just follow their green ratings. With its help, you will be able to identify the greenest brands!

As you can clearly see above, TOSHIBA scores quite low due to its misleading claim regarding its products' compliance with ENERGY STAR (in translation: high green standards). Surprisingly, Apple isn't doing so hot either! HP, on the other hand, ranks highest as it offers the best program for measuring and reducing emission of greenhouse gases and paper procurement policy in the industry! Hats off HP!

What's your PC brand? Pls share it in the comments box below!

Gaya is fragile.

2012-05-23T18:25:00.001+02:00

We came across a mind boggling app called “Fragile Earth” which helps raise awareness towards the effects of changes in climate, urbanization, among other factors. It reveals this through shocking images of how our earth is changing over time. It reveals before and after images such as droughts, disappearing lakes and the effects of deforestation as a result of these factors. The app covers six sections: Natural Phenomena, Warming World, Water’s Power, Deserts and Drought, Man’s Impact and Wild Weather.

This is a clear example of how environmentalists have evolved their methods technologically through the use of apps to generate a higher level of reach among consumers to raise awareness as well as to hopefully impact their behavior, though there isn't much evidence to substantiate the second claim.

P.S. You can share the site’s images and reasons behind these effects via the app, Facebook or twitter. You can have access to this app for a mere $ 2.99.

2012-05-18T14:33:00.001+02:00

@ITisgreener

https://twitter.com/#!/ITisgreener

A shot of virus for a shot of power

2012-05-18T13:52:00.001+02:00

The so-called “good” virus

Scientists from Berkley Labs discovered a good virus, aka M13, that can convert mechanical energy into electricity through a process called “piezoelectric”[1]. Sounds weird huh? While most of us are trying to kill off viruses, these scientists are trying to find ways to use their replicable nature and energy into everyday use. Though they are still in the very beginning stages of their research, the M13 virus was able to produce enough energy comparable to a 1/4 voltage of a common, AAA battery, which was enough to flash a number in a LCD display[2].

Is this technology going to spread like a virus?

This is interesting and all, but, will we end up with some sort of swine flu? Aids? Or simply a cold? We wouldn’t want that… According to research this M13 bacteriophage (type of virus) only attacks bacteria and is harmless to humans[3].

So, let’s just figure out how this works.

The virus is contained in assembled post-stamp sized patches and is connected to the device with electrodes. When pressure is applied to the patches, the viruses react converting the mechanical energy from the viruses into electricity. And that’s when the magic happens! This new breakthrough in Nanotechnology is now referred to as viral electronics[4]. YUM!

A lot of research still needs to be done in order to allow this technology to be taken to the market. However, this initial breakthrough has received a lot of praise and attention in the scientific community. Surprisingly, this Piezoelectric technology isn’t new, but it is the first of its kind to be used with non-toxic materials that are also easily replicable[5].

Want to get scientific?

The Scientists

From left, Byung Yang Lee, Seung-Wuk Lee, and Ramamoorthy Ramesh developed the "viral-electric" generator[6].

The Video

The Article

How is this Green IT?

How would you like a battery that constantly generates power – on its own?! – and comes from natural resources? We sure would! Not only is it better for the environment, but we hope that the disposal of it will have a much lower impact in contaminating our environment.

[1] http://technabob.com/blog/2012/05/16/virus-generates-electricity/

[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18074644

[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18074644

[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18074644

[5] http://technabob.com/blog/2012/05/16/virus-generates-electricity/

[6] http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2012/05/13/electricity-from-viruses/

Bamboo Keys?

2012-05-10T01:25:00.000+02:00

The world is so uncertain that it is impossible to predict what is going to happen in the next few months or even next 2 weeks. Companies used to plan lengthy developed strategies but the rules are completely changing! Companies need to think fast and react fast in order to stay innovative… why not innovate in a green way? We present iZen, a company that created the bamboo keyboard

What’s the project?

iZen’s vision is to create electronic products that are environmentally friendly. With this in mind, they created a fully functional wireless keyboard made of 92% bamboo. According to iZen, the bamboo keyboard is “renewable, recyclable, and won’t pile up in landfills. It works wirelessly with iPads, iPhones, Macs, Androids, tablet PCs, smart phones, and many other Bluetooth-enabled devices”. It’s an innovative idea that fits perfectly with today’s trends of Green IT and environmental consciousness. iZen’s bamboo keyboard was recognized as one of five “cool green gadgets” by USA Today. [1]

How?

The company called iZen self-funded its initial production and has stated that they are almost out of inventory after only 2 weeks![2]; For additional funding, iZen turned to the US based web company Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com) that serves as a portal for “to-be” entrepreneurs to post their idea on the site and receive public funding. iZen’s goal was to raise $18K via the website, but the Kickstarter community users decided the idea was so great that they surpassed that goal to $26K.

Products

iZen has expanded their product catalog beyond its star bamboo keyboard. You can view and purchase their products via the iZen products page. They now offer iPhone covers, iPad stands and computer mouse all made out of bamboo!

The price is a bit on the high side from our point of view (keyboard $99, iPad stand $28.95) but the value add of having cool modern looking electronic gadgets that are recyclable and durable is a value add that makes the price worth it.

Changing rules of the game! Do it the Green way!

So next time you’re thinking about buying something cool, green and original go “outside the box” and look for the many green products that are out there in the market today!

Other suggested Green products:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/wooden-computer-accessories-a-148255
http://www.hardwaresphere.com/2010/04/01/substrata-wooden-ipad-case/
http://gadgetsin.com/bamboo-wooden-ipad-case-and-stand.htm
http://www.funkykit.com/pc-tech/1485-a-computer-case-made-from-wood.html

[1] http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2012/04/21/5-cool-green-gadgets-for-earth-day/)
[2] www.kickstarter.com/projects/805904645/izen-bamboo-keyboard)

Electronic Waste

2012-05-03T22:20:00.002+02:00

I have six cellphones at my apartment. I only need one, so what should I do with the rest of them? If you’re thinking “throw them in the trash” then you’re not alone. According to the EPA: “In the United States, only about 18% of e-waste is collected for recycling, with the remaining 80% sent to landfill and 2% for incineration”[1]. But is this the right way to be disposing of old electronics? Should I try to recycle them instead? I’m not really sure, which is probably why I still have six phones.

Throwing everything in the trash is, by far, the quickest and easiest solution, but it’s also the least environmentally friendly. When you throw your electronic waste in the trash, it ends up in either a landfill or an incinerator, both of which cause environmental damage. From the landfill, toxic chemicals can leak out into the surrounding ground and streams, whereas incineration releases the toxic chemicals into the air.[2] Some of the most damaging chemicals released include lead, cadmium, and mercury, which have been linked to tumors, mental health disorders, and even cancer.[3]

Recycling is a better option, but you need to do your homework and make sure you are using a reputable recycling service, or else your old electronics might simply end up in a landfill in another country instead of your own. “about 80 percent of that [recycled] material, very quickly, finds itself on a container ship going to a country like China, Nigeria, India, Vietnam, Pakistan — where very dirty things happen to it."[4] Once the waste arrives in one of these countries, it is picked over for the few parts that can be reused, and the rest is discarded into open air trash piles that are likely even worse for the environment than the landfills in developed countries. According to e-stewards “82% of small children tested in Gulyu, China were found to have clinical lead poisoning”.[5]

As electronics become cheaper, and hundreds of millions of people around the world enter the middle class, the issue of electronic waste will only grow more and more important. So what can you do?

Research

- Know which home items are recyclable. Did you know that 60% of the stuff you have at home is recyclable?

- Find out what recycling companies are around and ask if they recycle responsibly. What I mean by “responsibly” is that they don’t simply ship everything to developing countries, but rather extract all the reusable material in a safe and environmentally friendly way

Reduce

- Purchase products that you know are reliable thereby reducing the number of times you would have to replace that product

- Repair old electronics instead of buying new ones, it just may come in handy!

- Upgrade rather than replace. You can do this in two ways: 1. If it’s a PC then simply upgrade its hard drive and if it’s a phone then replace it’s battery. Or 2. Some electronics retail stores are ready to buy your old equipment and can offer you a brand new product for just a little more cash

Reuse

- Donate what you don’t use… hey! After all, someone’s trash will be someone else’s treasure

- Resell what you don’t want!! A little less clutter and a little more dough in the pocket can’t hurt

Recycle

- Play detective and find out what and where you can recycle!

- Check if brands you are buying offer a recycling program, a responsible one… Apple, for example, gives you the opportunity to send your old products, and they take care of the rest![6]

Want to see the story in the making? Here’s a video[7]

Here’s a report card for responsible or not so responsible electronic brands[8]

Grade	Computer Companies	TV Companies	Printers Companies	Game Consoles
A		None.
B	Dell
B-	Asus	Samsung (dishonorable mention)
C+	Apple	LG /Best Buy /Walmart
C		Sharp
C-	HP / Toshiba		HP
D+		Mitsubishi/Panasonic
D	Acer	Sony / Vizio		Sony
D-	Lenovo			Microsoft /Nintendo
F		Funai / Hitachi / JVC / Philips /Sanyo /Target / RCA/Thomson	Brother /Epson /Lexmark / Kodak / Canon

Over the past decade, people have become more aware of the waste they are generating due to increased awareness and educational initiatives sponsored by governments and have hence increased the amount of recycled items per household. The proliferation of electronic waste, and government laws and regulations regarding its disposal, are expected to create lucrative opportunities in the recycling business. “ABI Research said that [in 2009] the market for e-waste recovery globally was around $5.7 billion. This revenue is described as money generated through reclamation of valuable materials from e-scrap”.[9] Over the next four years that number was expected to more than double to $14.7 billion. This kind of market growth should provide a number of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs.

[1] http://tinyurl.com/bqxjjgb

[2] http://tinyurl.com/33qyzja

[3] http://tinyurl.com/bmvz2d5

[4] http://tinyurl.com/cdee33b

[5] http://e-stewards.org/

[6] http://tinyurl.com/c9dh883

[7] http://tinyurl.com/6ehbean

[8] http://tinyurl.com/32f5z7r

[9] http://tinyurl.com/yf4xgen

PC Power management

2012-04-25T22:01:00.001+02:00

How many times have your parents asked you to turn the tap off in order to avoid wasting water? How many times have you opted to purchase an energy-saving lamp in order to reduce your electricity bill? The power consumption of home PC ranges from 400 to 650 Wt1 - enough to illuminate 6-10 lamps, but have you ever considered managing your PC energy consumption? Nowadays there is a solution for that concern and it is known as PC power management. It “refers to the mechanism for controlling the power use of personal computer hardware. This is typically through the use of software that puts the hardware into the lowest power demand state available.”[1] It may vary from “plug-and-play” software for home users up to complex software solutions for enterprises. The Cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that PC power management software alone could be saving almost 47 mt CO2 of emissions by 2015, equivalent to taking nearly 8 million cars off the road.[2]

The power management market looks attractive in terms of figures. The PC and server power management software market is set to expand nearly fivefold to $783 million by 2015, equivalent to an annual growth rate of nearly 35%[3]. This market growth is mainly driven by the following factors:

Steady price growth of power sources with consequent rising in kilowatt-hour price; Legislation on PC energy-saving standards which require increased level of power efficiency[4];
Increasing level of Corporate Social Responsibility that has clear intention to decrease corporate IT footprint
Dedicated PC power management software providers (e.g., 1E, Verdiem, Faronics Technologies; Sparxent; Verismic)[8];
Companies that offer power management as part of a lifecycle management solution (e.g., VMWare, Oracle and CA, IBM and other big players in the computer sector);
Open source power management software could take a big piece of a market pie.

Analysts have demonstrated that managing the power of a PC can save up to $77 per year per PC. This would result, according to Pike Research, in savings of $18.6 billion per year by 2015 for the companies that adopt software solutions aimed at cutting wasted power from computers and servers[5]. These saving opportunities would probably further contribute to increase the PC power management market. However, it’s not all about future prospects, but it’s something that could also happen right now: for example, AT&T in 2009 showed how it is saving $13 million a year in energy use from power management[6].

On the other hand, power management does not currently have benefits in some cases due to the fact that many IT departments are not responsible for energy costs, and therefore do not have a powerful incentive to make changes. The degree to which IT is given a greater stake in reducing energy costs will be a significant factor in the development of this market. There’s no doubt that companies will pay more attention to this topic, because power management tools offer a quick return on investment. Managing a company's power efficiency will have a positive impact on ROI since IT assets represent a comprehensive part of total assets. The data depicted in the table below shows the short-term returns of such investments:

[7]

For those who are interested in job positions in this field or are looking for entrepreneurial ideas to be able to exploit growing markets, the PC power management market could be a potential target and, in the next couple of years, this market is expected to be shaped by competition among:

Moreover, PC power management is not only an opportunity for the private sector, but the public sector can also contribute to make this market more interesting: consider the successful example of implementation of computer scripts by undergraduate interns from Iowa State University for Ames laboratory. The goal was to determine how IT infrastructure consumes less power by shutting down unused nodes and turning them on as needed, or after peak alert hours. The laboratory calculated savings of 17,700 kWh and roughly 7 metric tons of CO2 on just one of its server rack clusters.[9]

Finally, even if you are not interested in the market for professional purposes, there is still an opportunity to approach PC power management by applying its principles in daily life. So, don’t waste any more time: starting today, turn your laptop off when you are not using it!

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_power_management

[2]http://www.pikeresearch.com/newsroom/pc-and-server-power-management-software-revenue-to-reach-783-million-by-2015

[3]http://www.pikeresearch.com/newsroom/pc-and-server-power-management-software-revenue-to-reach-783-million-by-2015

[4] http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=9A4C01D9-1A64-6A71-CE8F6A4157EA85DF

[5] http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/10/11/pc-power-management-market-boom-energy-prices-rise

[6] http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/10/28/att-save-piles-cash-energy-management-software?src=int

[7]http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/tech_deployment/pdfs/43650.pdf; http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/tech_deployment/pdfs/43651.pdf; http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/tech_deployment/pdfs/45814.pdf

[8]http://www.pikeresearch.com/newsroom/pc-and-server-power-management-software-revenue-to-reach-783-million-by-2015

http://www.verdiem.com/about

[9] http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/51397.pdf

¿Que diablos es Green IT?

2012-04-18T11:49:00.000+02:00

¿Que diablos es Green IT?

Like some of our readers (or perhaps not) our first reaction to Green IT was: an important, clean, complicated and intangible technology that makes a significant impact on the way we interact with our electronics devices. We were inclined to believe that the responsibility of being green in the field of technology was in the hands of corporations. However, upon further investigation, we were tasked with discovering the truth about Green IT. Our team found that we were partially right, but unfortunately we missed the heart of the issue. We realized that all of us are responsible for our IT consumption and we can all impact the management of resources. In a nutshell, according to an article by Laurie McCabe from Computing.com on the subject[1], Green IT is consciously reducing the consumption in all areas related to information technology in order to efficiently manage resources (energy, materials disposal, printed paper, etc.) and avoid unnecessary waste. This sounds good, so what’s the issue?

¿Cual es el problema amigo?

Are you guilty of printing 25 pages of material when you really only needed the first 2 pages? Are you guilty of leaving your computer on when you go out to lunch or leave the office? How considerate were you with your work computer vs. your personal laptop? Do you notice a significant difference on how you behaved at work in terms of IT resource consumption vs. at your own home when it impacted your pocket book? Be honest, we won’t tell anyone. The truth is that most of us may act more “carelessly” in regards to IT consumption in our work environments since it is not our Euros on the line. We believe that careless consumption of IT resources is one of the reasons why companies have an incentive to go green. According to Computing.com, Green IT leads to significant cost savings, “…by 2012, experts estimate that for every dollar you spend on a server, it will cost $1 to power and cool it”[1]. Multiply this by the number of servers a company may have, and the cost starts to add up quickly.

However, besides the monetary impact of saving a couple of bucks, Green IT also has considerable benefits to our environment. To put this in better perspective, according to a report by McKinsey and Company, datacenters produce 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions, the airline industry contributes to 6% and the steel industry 1% (data from 2008).[2] It is shocking to grasp the fact that our IT datacenters alone are producing half the amount of CO2 emissions as the world’s airplanes. In Laurie’s article she mentions that the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated that in 2007 an alarming 82% (1.84 million tons) of electronic waste ended up in landfills.[1] If you are like us, this amount of waste is difficult to understand so let’s suppose that many of us students have five electronics devices (mobile phone, MP3 player, laptop, tablet and GPS navigator). We will use, depend and care deeply for these electronic devices until we fall in love with the next best thing. As human nature will have it, the inevitable will happen and 4 out 5 of our ex-devices will end up in landfills. So the question all of us should be asking is not what the problem is, but how can we fix it.

Como puedes iniciar a “Make IT Green”?

Some simple, everyday ways YOU can be more Green IT conscious:

Do you really need your cell phone, laptop, MP3 player, TV and tablet on at the same time?

Do you really need to print ALL that? In 2008, InfoTrends found that the average office employee used 130 pounds of paper![1]

You forgot to turn off the light!

Give your computer a rest, sleep mode is not real sleep.

Be a Green consumer and look for products that have high energy ratings. For example, EnergyStar 4.0 ratings[1]

Educate yourself on how to best recycle old electronic devices. Contact EPA or IBM’s Asset Recovery Program or Apple’s Takeback Program before you send your iPod to the nearest landfill. You will be surprised, some suppliers and manufactures may still use the same parts in new products.

Green IT and YOU!

Green IT has its benefits, but it also can be inconvenient. We live in a society that thrives on instant gratification and time savings. Conserving energy, waste and resources can get in the way. However, are we willing to accept the alternative consequences resulting from NOT being green? After reading this brief summary of the impact and benefits of Green IT, you may have already started to think about IE’s new printing policy. Is it wise that we students were “inconvenienced” by not having all our course materials printed on paper? We are the next generation business leaders, is this the message we want to deliver?

[1]http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3855806/What-Is-Green-IT-and-Why-Should-You-Care.htm

http://lauriemccabe.com/about/

[2] http://www.infoworld.com/d/green-it/green-it-numbers-dont-lie-809?page=0,2).