Green Computing became the center of attention when the EPA introduced the Energy Start program. This program through many partner ships between countless corporation and the government have made it possible for new technologies to come out that are more environmentally friendly and use less electricity. The Energy Star label has made it easier for consumer to identify energy efficient products. So it seems the EPA is doing a good job in making it easier for consumers to buy electronics and computers that are both energy efficient and environmentally efficient (Energy Star, 2007)
Potential Benefits of Green Computing?
According to the Department of Energy, 1.5% of all the energy consumed in the United States in 2006 was consumed by data centers. That number is also on the rise by 12% every year. It is estimated that that by the end of 2011, the 6,000 data centers across the United States will have consumed about 100 billion kWh of power which would have an energy cost of about 7.4 billion dollars. They’re though companies out there that are re-inventing their data center to be more environmentally friendly. Three of these companies are Microsoft, Google and Yahoo. Each had taken a different rout in reducing their data centers energy cost. While Microsoft has chosen to build is new data center in Washington State to take advantage of hydroelectric power plants. Google and yahoo have revamped their existing data center to be more energy efficient. These are some of the many potential benefits that can come from Green Computing. Companies implementing and using green tech in order to reduce their energy consumption and reduce their carbon foot print in a huge leap in the industry (Kurp, 2008)
Legal and Ethical issues related to Green Computing:
companies are trying to take advantage of people by creating useless energy saving products. One such example is the USB Eco Button. It is essentially a plastic device that plugs into your computer USB drive and puts that computer in to a low power consumption mode. This little device is unnecessary because many (Energy Star)computers can already be put into lower power states without the need to external gizmos. So in turn this little device can be doing more harm than it is trying to prevent. (Bawaba, 2009)
Here's a video that touches on some main point of green computing.
Bibliography
1. Energy Star. (n.d.). History of Energy Star. Retrieved 10 10, 2011, from Energy Star http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=about.ab_history
2. Al Bawaba. (2009). Green Computing: The good and the bad. Network World Middle East. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=2&did=1896416681&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1318338752&clientId=31810
3. Kurp, P. (2008, 10). Green Computing. Society, pp. 11-13.
