The Green IT

When I was in 2^nd grade in elementary school, I could remember my teacher ask our class to tell our parents about the harm that burning garbage could bring to our environment. My mother, upon hearing my teacher’s message through me, suddenly responded with a tone of sarcasm that went like “..so that’s why I saw them burning garbage at the their schoolyard..”. It’s been more than two decades since that happened and I couldn’t help but just smile whenever that memory flashes back to me. However, if you do make a reality check what my mother said did have a point.

We have been hearing many “mini resolutions” that one can do in going green but not every one seems to partake in saving the environment. The evidence that humans are causing global warming is strong, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. We have been educated by the media to install compact fluorescent light bulbs, take shorter showers, keep electronics out of trash and a lot more ways to join the green campaign. In fact, almost all industries, like economics, sociology and politics, are doing their parts by combating global warming and the greenhouse effect. As per the article, the IT industry could be of considerable help in stopping the said two phenomena by producing more eco-friendly and energy efficient technologies. Initially, I was wondering how could IT possibly and considerably lessen the emission of C02 gas, which traps and holds in the heat and is the main cause of global warming. Then I realized that if these computer manufacturers would completely push through with the production of energy efficient computer units then it would mean less energy consumption. We know that there many power plants operating around the globe which burn fuels just to generate electricity, so if we could save more electricity we would be less dependent on these kinds of power plants which emit huge amount of CO2 gas. That’s less coal we burn and less money we spend. I do not know how exactly this presumption of mine leads me to the correct answer, but I do believe that it makes sense. The article also discusses about HP reusing and recycling some of its materials to manufacture its products. It reminds of the business signages in Makati and Las Piñas areas that read “We buy empty ink cartridges”, if that is part of this green campaign then that is good for not only do they make money, they also save the environment.

Let me also share my high school experience when we joined the noise barrage to protest the construction and operation of the nuclear power plant in the Philippines. Upon reading the article about Green IT, that memory went back to me because I realized that it was but an attempt to produce more energy and emit less "green house gases". It’s just sad that this effort of going green has some risks lying ahead. Just like in the article, it is advised that computer replacements and hardware upgrades, if implemented every two years, should instead be implemented every after 4 years; so that, there would be less disposal of these materials. However, newly manufactured computers, servers, cooling equipment, and data centers have designs which are more energy-efficient and environmentally sound. Wouldn’t it mean replacing your old hardware with the green ones would be tantamount to less energy consumption? So why take a longer time to implement hardware upgrades? Although, some of the resolutions at hand have drawbacks, the good news is that -- there are a variety of options to put us on a path toward a stable climate with which everyone can help.