Green IT

Apple’s data centers to go 100% renewables

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After Microsoft’s pledge to go carbon neutral earlier this month, it was logical to see other IT giants follow suit. The first to clean up and go low carbon is Apple. As Robert McMillan reports in Grist : ” The computer company says that by early next year, the energy used to power its worldwide data centers … Read more

Microsoft to become carbon neutral

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Little by little, Big Business understands that climate change has to be addressed. The last example is Microsoft as it is willing to become carbon neutral as early as July 1st, 2012. As Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, noted : ( Microsoft wants ) ” to infuse carbon awareness into every part of our business. To … Read more

Heating buildings with data centers

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The idea might seem a bit far-fetched but recovering the heat produced by data centers could heat buildings. However we have seen similar ideas are extremely cost efficient and environmentally friendly.

To ExtremeTech : ” With a temperature of around 40-50°C, the exhaust from a rack of cloud servers could be a very cost-effective way of heating your house, according to researchers from Microsoft and the University of Virginia.”

” Dubbed the “Data Furnace,” these racks would be hot enough to completely replace the heating and hot water system in a house or office. “

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Great technologies for our computers

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To Clean Technica : ” Samsung has developed a new computer that is solar-powered! The Samsung NC215S netbook it will be the first computer of its kind. The power will come from a solar panel embedded in the lid. “ Still to Clean Technica :

” a team of researchers at Australia’s RMIT have demonstrated a new, “nano-scaled” piezoelectric film’s capacity for turning mechanical pressure into electricity — bringing the  dream of perpetually-charged laptop batteries one giant leap closer to reality. “

I look forward to seeing these innovations in my next laptop or iPhone. It seems I am always recharging them… With both technologies combined, we would have virtually endless batteries.

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How green is the iPhone ?

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This is the question one might ask as there are so many of them nowadays. Geekaphone answers this with a brilliant infographic by having a close look at its fabrication and lifecycle. Did you know that during its lifecycle, an iPhone 4 will emit the equivalent of 45 kgs of carbon dioxide ? 57 % … Read more

Graphene can be produced by sugar

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I once wrote that aerogel – a great insulating material, 37 times more insulating that fiberglass – can be made of rice husks, a common byproduct of the most eaten cereal in the world. Now it seems that graphene – a highly conductible and resistant material that could literally revolutionize electronics and computers – can … Read more

Cow manure could help power the internet

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One of my previous posts was useful as an answer to a discussion on CleanTechies, so I decided to repost it there :  ” It has been previously stated here in an article by Crisp Green that generating energy from poop is unlikely. “ ” I disagree. It seems that the idea is not too … Read more

Green IT, the other cleantech

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To Ashok Kamal in CleanTechies : ” In many academic, policy and business circles, the term “clean tech” is synonymous with renewable energy.” However under this term we can put among others electric cars and green IT.

And the latter is very important and promising as GreenTech Enterprise notes that it is the biggest green market. In a brilliant article they outline seven reasons why it is the case.

Data centers have we have seen previously consume huge amounts of energy and this is only the beginning as we are using more and more the Internet.

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The huge potential savings of small changes

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This week I read an article from GreenTech Media titled When sleep saves.  This shows that a single company is due to save $400,000 (290,000 euros) this year just by putting all its computers in sleep mode when possible.

I am amazed at how such a simple thing can save so much money. If such a thing was generalized among all companies around the world, the savings would be staggering.

Around the world, hundreds of coal-fired plants are spewing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other pollutants for nothing. It is high time we tackle the issue.

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The energy cost of our electronic devices

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The International Energy Agency issued a study – Gadgets and Gigawatts – on the energy consumption of the numerous mobile phones, mp3 players and other electronic devices. By 2030, they are due to consume up to three times more and thus burn up to 700 terawatt-hours of electricity. All this energy would cost up to … Read more

Shuting down PCs at night could save billions

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1e-pc-energy-reportAn article on TreeHugger caught my attention as it explained that half US employees – and similar figures in other countries – don’t turn off their computers at the end of their work day. The potential savings are impressive.

In America: $2.8 billion, in the United Kingdom $420 million and Germany $1.2 billion. That’s right, turning off computers at night in these three countries alone could save $4.4 billion per year.

As more and more companies are willing to cut costs and outgreen their competitors, it’s high time to switch off both lights and computers at night.

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Decreasing the energy use of the IT sector

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By reading the UNEP feeds, I came across an interesting report on the huge possible energy and money savings in the information and communication sector.

According to a new report by the Climate Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, worldwide savings could reach 500 billion Euros (800 billion USD) by 2020.

This would lead to a reduction by 15 percent of the global greenhouse gases emissions in and out of the sector by 2020. A most interesting news.

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