GOING GREEN: THE EMERGING IT TREND

By
Krishnan, R.Sudarsan
Vivekananda College

The latest development of IT has proved itself to be the current and future leading
development sector. Since, Information technology has become the future it must
also concentrate on the damages it can cause to potential resources. The natural
resources are the most affected and damaged due to e-waste and electronic needs.
So the need to go green in Information Technology has changed from option to
need these days. The following paragraphs explain the needs and development of
Green computing.

of the future there is a need for

INTRODUCTION
The beginning of Information
technology has bought in newer
looks and new changes that man
can ever imagine. Information
Technology changed the world
totally by making its part
inevitable in almost every
industry.
The growth of IT has made the
futurist think that the Information
Technology is the future of the
world and it is proved now and
then by some great technological
out blast by so many developers.
Since Information Technology
has become an inseparable part
Information to sustain the
resources that it needs to develop
so that it can maintain its stability
in the future.
Thus started the need for
environmental friendly
computing or green computing
that tried to maintain balance in
ecological cycle that can be
affected by the need of
technology.
HISTORY:
The idea of green computing
started when technology started
reaching the hands of the
common masses. In the year
1992, the department of U.S.
environmental protection
launched a labeling called energy
star that helped in branding the
products such as monitors,
equipments for their
environmental friendliness.
After that the energy star brand
has made the technological
equipment like air conditioners,
computers, and refrigerators.
Following the energy star brand
another certification called TCO
(TjänstemännensCentralorganis
ation). Initially TCO
certification was meant to be for
computer monitors but later the
revision of rules included TCO
certification for keyboards,
mouse and other peripheral
equipments, mobile phones etc…
Thus started the basic thought
about reducing the damages and
sustain the nature which was then
coined to be “GREEN
COMPUTING”
GOALS OF GREEN
COMPUTING:
The need for anything starts with
an invention. The invention that
revolutionalized the world has
also causes little damages to it
like emission of CFC’s that cause
the ozone hole. Thus started the
need for something to prevent the
future so that it can use the
technology safely and perfectly.
The need was listed out into
basic requirements and the
following are the needs and
requirements of green
computing:
 Minimizing energy
consumption from the IT
estate
 Purchasing green energy
and using green suppliers
 Reducing the paper and
other consumables used
 Minimizing equipment
disposal requirements
 Reducing travel
requirements for
employees/customers
 MINIMISING ENERGY
CONSUMPTION:
As rightly described by
technologist the world is power
hungry and the hunger is so
much that it would literally
explode. The reason for this is
the modernization that brought in
technology as the basic need for carve up your single server into 5
any organizational development. or 10 virtual servers.
Any technological invention
Current ideas like cloud
consumes energy which in turn
computing are based on this
needs the utilization of natural
concept of virtualization of
resource.
server and systems.
The power hungry sector has to
 PURCHASING GREEN
think this as its primary goal of
ENERGY:
green computing. The goal
cannot permanently reduce the
Even though lowering of
power consumption by the IT.
energy consumption can
However, the high power
help in lot better way one
consumption can be lowered
can’t completely rely on
which will in turn reduce the
lower it. Most of the
damage. It is like having 5 small
technologies that are
meals a day instead of having 1
building need some little
large meal which can cause
more energy for showing
hunger later.
their efficiency.
Energy star and TCO are the So need to purchase green
brands that look after these energy is also a part of plan
energy needs, low power that must be used to survive
consumption guarantee. the future needs. The
source for the energy need
Moreover, virtualization of the
must be also not affecting
servers and desktops is a good
the environment so that
idea.  The old model of dedicated
environment can stay away
physical hardware to support
from getting damaged. That
server applications and services
is the basis for the energy
can now be replaced with
need must be brought
virtualization technology to
without destructing the
create logical separation or
environment.
services but without physical
separation.  Basically you can
This can be done by
use virtualization software to
switching the energy needs
to green energy suppliers.
Energy efficiency and
renewable energy are said
to be the twin pillars of
sustainable energy. The
green energy suppliers will
harness the energy from
natural resource without
damaging them so that the
energy used for the
consumption will not in any
way affect the environment.
Ecotricity is one of the
leading green energy
suppliers that are based on
wind power. They use
windmill to produce
electricity so that the need
to protect the environment
is the integral part of their
motto.
There are other such green
energy suppliers who can
help us in many ways to get
a green energy for energy
needs. The suppliers can be
compared on sites that are
designed to show their
green energy wealth.
Ecotricity is the sponsor of
the Ecotricity Greenbird, a
wind-powered vehicle that
set a new world land speed
record for wind-powered
vehicles.
So that energy consumed
by car can also be reduced
and refined into green
energy.
First and second generation
technologies have entered
the markets, and third-
generation technologies
heavily depend on long
term research and
development commitments,
where the public sector has
a role to play.
 REDUCING PAPER AND
OTHER CONSUMABLE
RESOURCE:
After the energy consumption is
lowered and eco friendly energy
is used for technologies there is
also a need to cut down on the
use of consumable resources that
are wasted. For eg. Use of paper
must be cut down and replaced
by email and other electronic
means so that there will be
stability in green computing.
Using energy produced by nature
and also cutting down trees to
make other consumable
resources simultaneously will
result in over use of natural
resources.
This can be done by two
processes. Recycling and
replacing. Recycling of toners,
electronic parts, papers that are
wasted and replacing the papers
with electronic means can help in
maintaining the consumable
resource level good.
The following plans can be
implemented in every IT
company and technology users to
that they can reduce the use of
consumable resource or recycle
them:
 Add a standard email footer
asking people not to print
unnecessarily
 Change default printer
settings to be double sided
printing
 Replace older printers with
more efficient devices such
as MFPs
 Replace faxes with
paperless solutions such as
fax-to-email
 Replace copiers with
scanners (scan and email)
 Replace memos and paper
information distribution
with an intranet
 Switch customer and
supplier communications to
email and extranet systems
such as e-billing, e-
purchasing
 Recycle toners
 MINIMIZING
DISPOSAL:
The need to minimize the
disposal rate of electronic waste
is also a key goal in green IT.
The more amount of technologies
prepared and consumed the more
waste produced. The fact is that
they can’t be disposed like a can
or cover just by throwing them
into the dustbin because they are
not bio degradable.
The recent WEEE directive
provides a framework under
which the onus for old equipment
disposal falls to the vendor or the
new equipment, and that
equipment disposal must be in an
eco-friendly manner.  We can
minimize the ongoing disposal
requirements by minimizing our
purchasing, but your new green
computing strategy is likely to
require some replacement of
existing technology in the first
instance.
There are many organizations
that can dispose of your
equipment for you normally at a
nominal cost.
Rapid changes in technology,
low initial cost, and planned
obsolescence have resulted in a
fast-growing surplus of
electronic waste around the
globe. Today the electronic waste
recycling business is in all areas
of the developed world a large
and rapidly consolidating
business.
Part of this evolution has
involved greater diversion of
electronic waste from energy-
intensive down cycling processes
(e.g., conventional recycling),
where equipment is reverted to a
raw material form. This diversion
is achieved through reuse and
refurbishing. The environmental
and social benefits of reuse
include diminished demand for
new products and virgin raw
materials (with their own
environmental issues);
Larger quantities of pure water
and electricity for associated
manufacturing; less packaging
per unit; availability of
technology to wider swaths of
society due to greater
affordability of products; and
diminished use of landfills.
The current practices of e-waste
management in India suffer from
a number of
Drawbacks like the difficulty in
inventorisation, unhealthy
conditions of informal recycling,
Inadequate legislation, poor
awareness and reluctance on part
of the corporate to address the
Critical issues. The consequences
are that (i) toxic materials enter
the waste stream with no
Special precautions to avoid the
known adverse effects on the
environment and human health
and
(ii) Resources are wasted when
economically valuable materials
are dumped or unhealthy
Conditions are developed during
the informal recycling.
The situation is alarming.
According to a survey by IRG
Systems, South Asia, the total
waste generated by obsolete or
broken-down electronic and
electrical equipment in India has
been estimated to be 1,46,180
tons per year based on select
EEE tracer items. This figure
does not include WEEE imports.
At the rate at which
technological changes are taking
place, not only in computers and
cell phones but also in domestic
appliances such as washing
machines, refrigerators,
microwave ovens and TV sets,
the problem seems to be
compounding.
 Reducing travel
requirements for
employees/customers:
This can be one of the hardest
nuts to crack as it involves
fundamental culture change,
but can offer substantial
benefits and cost reductions.  tomorrow and that which will not
Clearly many employees need
to come into work, but many
do not and can work more
effectively from home, or in
smaller satellite facilities. 
With virtualized desktops,
they can effectively access
their PC's from home. 
Meetings can be replaced with
conference calls, and as
internet access speeds improve
we can expect the return of
video conferencing.  Web-
cams are cheap and bandwidth
is readily available, so we can
send data, voice and video
over the internet creating
virtual meetings and offices.
For customers, consider if you
can reduce the requirement for
customers to visit you by
providing more information and
services on-line.
CONCLUSION:
Thus, the green computing aims
at providing the world that is
sustainable and not degrading.
The need to keep up the resource
is the crucial part of better
regret us being their past.