The increase in U-M consumption of electricity and paper causes an increase in air pollution, solid waste, and the burning of fossil fuels. Much of the paper used by PCs is wasted. National estimates indicate that most PCs are not being used most of the time they are on. In addition, 30 - 40 percent of all PCs are left on overnight and on weekends.
On the U-M Ann Arbor campus, PC operation alone may account for at least $1.8 million in energy costs each year. This represents approximately 11 percent of the total amount spent by the U-M on electricity. It is estimated that a PC system can easily consume 300 watts of electricity per hour ‚ the same amount of energy needed to operate three 100 watt light bulbs.
The following "green computing" habits can significantly reduce the amount of electricity and environmental waste for which PCs are responsible.
Waste Minimization Procedure
Electrical Conservation Tips:
Turn the computer off overnight and on weekends;
Wait until ready to use the PC before turning it on;
If the computer is going to be inactive for more than 16 minutes, consider turning it off. After this time, the energy needed to run the computer outweighs the start-up energy;
Do not turn on the printer until ready to print, even an idle printer consumes energy;
Try to schedule computer-related activities to do them all at once, keeping the computer off at other times;
If spending a large amount of time at the computer, consider reducing the light level in your office. This may improve cathode ray tube screen visibility as well as save energy.
Paper Conservation Tips:
Use "paperless" methods of communication such as electronic mail (e-mail) and fax modems. Also, do not print out copies of e-mail messages unless necessary;
Use smaller font sizes and decrease the spacing between lines, or reformat to keep the document to as few pages as possible;
Review documents on the screen instead of printing a draft. If you must print a draft, use the blank back side of used sheets;
Use a printer that can print double-sided documents. When making copies, use double-sided copying;
The U-M buys and uses recycled-content paper when possible. Look for papers with 50 - 100 percent post-consumer waste and non-chlorine bleached. Also, recycle paper when done.
Store information on diskettes rather than in "hard copy" format. A single high-density 3.5 inch floppy disk can hold the equivalent of 750 sheets of paper, about one and a half reams. Also, be sure to reuse disks that contain outdated information.
Purchasing and Use of Equipment:
Printer toner cartridges can be refilled, rebuilt and reused. Many manufacturers will take a spent cartridge, refurbish it, refill it, and return it for about half the price of buying a new one;
Determine whether you can upgrade your existing equipment rather than purchasing new equipment;
Donate an old computer to a school or charity; if it is permanently out of order, give it to a computer recycling facility instead of discarding in a landfill;
Only buy a monitor as large as you really need; a 17 inch monitor uses 40 percent more energy than a 14-inch monitor. Also, the higher the resolution, the more energy it needs;
Consider purchasing an ink jet printer instead of a laser printer. Although they are a little slower, they use 80-90 percent less energy;
Request recycled or recyclable packaging from your vendor;
Buy soy or non-petroleum based inks. These printer inks are made from renewable resources, require fewer hazardous solvents, which translates to fewer air emissions, and in many cases produce brighter, cleaner colors;
Try to buy energy efficient products such as those bearing the Energy Star Logo. The Energy Star Program was started by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to encourage the production and use of energy-efficient equipment. In accordance with the EPA's voluntary guidelines, leading computer manufacturers are now producing equipment that can automatically power down to a "sleep mode" to save energy when not in use. They also use up to 30 percent less energy when running than conventional equipment. These added capabilities do not increase price or decrease performance.
Benefits
The production of electricity is the largest single source of air pollution, due to the burning of fossil fuels. A power plant used to generate electricity, burns oil, coal, or natural gas that emits gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These gases, in turn, cause acid rain, smog and global warming. Conserving energy reduces the amount of fuel that has to be consumed, thereby reducing the amount of pollution generated. Obviously, energy-efficiency is a positive step toward reducing air pollution.
Some of the tips given above to reduce paper use and reuse of toner cartridge and diskettes will go a long way towards reducing the amount of solid waste that ultimately ends up in a landfill.
http://www.p2000.umich.edu/energy_conservation/ec7.htm
GreenVM - not only saving energy resources but human resources as well:
Craig Terrell, head of the GreenVM project (also a part of Enterprise Systems and Technical Services), like Tracy Hansen sums up his team's project nicely with an eye towards its environmentally-friendly potential: "The UNT GreenVM project aims to consolidate server resources and hardware costs into a centralized location. This means that the hardware is being used to its available capacity instead of wasting cooling and electricity as the majority of servers do. With our existing VM infrastructure, we can run between 25 to 60 virtual servers (Web, Application, File & Print, etc.) on each physical server. This method also allows us more efficient use of storage resources by utilizing a SAN (Storage Area Network) which shares a large array of drives across multiple servers."
Terrell further explains some of the technical aspects and advantages of his project: "All the virtual servers are running on clustered physical servers. If we do suffer a hardware failure, the virtual servers automatically move to another physical server with minimal down time, typically under 2 minutes or less. If we receive notification of a looming failure we can migrate the servers with zero downtime. There is no worry about setting up or maintaining any hardware. No AC issues, no power issues, no hardware failure or associated parts issues. A VM behaves like a physical server but boots much faster. You retain all control over it, just as you would if you owned the hardware, but without the hardware headaches. That does mean you will be having to patch and backup the virtual server just as you would a physical server. Physical servers can be migrated onto a virtual server, a process called P2V. This is useful if there are existing server hardware issues or the need to retire an older server without the expense of new hardware." So like many green technologies, not only are virtual servers a way to stay green but they also offer overall workflow and efficiency advantages as well.
The GreenVM project has helped the distributed computing areas on campus in freeing up many of their technical and personnel resources to concentrate on direct desktop and user services. With server management not so much a part of their jobs, staff members can really hone in on their already fine customer service. Terrell reports that over 70 VM's are in production for departments such as Facilities, Student Development, the College of Music and TAMS as well as several CITC internal projects. Terrell cites future plans and advantages as well: "The CITC VM systems are available to all departments within UNT with a nominal cost. It is typically less expensive than purchasing a server over a three-year period with the added benefits of high-availability and easier management. In order to maximize the benefit of a virtual environment, the plan is to migrate or launch new projects in VM whenever possible. The more we move to VM, the less cooling and electricity we need per server." In addition, his team is implementing full offsite DR (Disaster recovery) for major systems and projects.
http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/2009/april09/Greencomputing.htm
What is Green Computing?
Green computing is the environmentally responsible use of technology.
What can I do to “green” my technology use?
Enable power management on your computer.
Power down the computer and monitor when not in use.
Consider plugging your computer and peripherals into a power strip with an on/off switch and turn the entire power strip off when not in use.
Think before you print. Do you really need a paper copy?
Use recycled paper if possible
Use Print Preview to review your job before printing it
Print in black and white whenever possible.
Print two-sided whenever possible.
Reuse unnecessary print jobs as scratch paper.
Advertise events, parties, etc. electronically or with chalk instead of print-outs.
Recycle!
Use the recycling bins around campus to recycle paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic
Toner on campus can be brought to ISR for recycling
Beloit College computers and laptop batteries can be brought to ISR for recycling
Locations for recycling home computers can be found here
Recycle used alkaline batteries in Pearsons by the mail center or in the Library
Use email instead of faxes
If you are in the market for a new computer at home, consider buying an Energy Star compliant computer
If it’s possible, download software from the web instead of purchasing a physical installation disc
What is Power management and how does it help?
Every day energy is wasted by computers and monitors that are left on when not in use. By simply putting the hard drive and monitor to sleep after a short period of inactivity, huge energy savings can be realized. The computer should wake up with a quick click of the mouse or by pressing a key on the keyboard. In some cases, you will need to press the power button briefly to wake the computer up. Also, be sure to shut down your computer before leaving for the day and over weekends. Use this handy calculator to get an idea of how much energy and money can be saved.
Some Myths and Facts about Power Management*
Myth: Computers have a shorter life when you turn them on and off frequently.
Fact: Hard disks in PCs older than 10 years did not automatically park their heads when shut off, leading to disk damage from frequent on/off power cycling. Newer PCs are designed to handle over 40,000 on/off cycles.
Myth: Turning your computer off uses more energy than leaving it on.
Fact: The surge of power when a computer is turned off lasts a few seconds and is insignificant compared to the sustained energy used in keeping it on during periods of inactivity.
Myth: As long as the computer is off, it’s not using any power.
Fact: As long as they are plugged in, your computer and other electronic devices continue to use electricity – even when they are turned off or in standby mode. A computer uses up to 10 watts when it is turned off but still plugged in.
http://www.beloit.edu/isr/greencomputing.php
For more information about green computing, check out these sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing
http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org
http://www.energymanagement.umich.edu/utilities/energy_management/computing/
http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/projects/green_computing.html
http://www.uwf.edu/helpdesk/eco/
We all know that not all people in this university have knowledge about the “green campus computing”. So, for me, the first thing to do for the University to apply these concepts about is to aware and educate the people about this. They should conduct some seminars or symposiums for the students or even the faculties to further understand this concept so that it will not be very difficult for the implementation.
Second, when the people are already aware, properly educated, and sensitive enough with regard to this matter including the causes and effects, this way they will think more before doing anything. Even this kind of action can lead to a nicer and greener environment.
To sum it up, it is not enough with the total awareness of the people, but, more importantly on the participation of the people. Not only the students, faculties, or the administration should participate but all the people that are part of the university.
