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IT for Green is the use of eco-friendly devices; it is also known as green computing which is the tendency of using different computers in an environmentally friendly way thus not causing harm to the environment. It is when computers are used in a way that favours the environment in such that it is beneficial to the environment. This includes the use of E-mails to communicate information instead of Papers, recycling unused parts of computers instead of disposing them in garbage, keeping information in computer systems instead of keeping a pile of papers containing crucial information.
Green computing is a major solution that has been brought about to help in building a healthy environment and society because it has helped reduce wasted resources from industries such as printing materials (Ink, toners and papers) and it promotes the recycling of waste components and parts of computers.
Green computing is a tool to prevent the planet Earth from Global warming by
Equipment recycling, reduction of paper usage, virtualization, cloud computing, power management, Telecommuting, Green manufacturing are the key initiatives towards Green computing.
Background of Green computingGreen computing started in the 90's when US environment protection energy launched The Energy Star Program.
Energy Star level is the program of label awarded to computers and other electronic devices.
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It is used to minimize use of the energy and maximize the efficiency of the product/devices.
This labelling program is designed to promote and recognize the energy efficiency in motors, climate control equipment and other technologies.
This technique increases the adaption of "sleep mode" among consumer's electronics.
Before Green computing was introduced, Paper based computing was used, Records were kept in papers, Letters were sent as hardcopies there was no such thing as electronic communications. Advertisements were written in papers and there was a wide spread of papers in the world which led to a negative impact on the environment thus making more need of making papers. Since papers are made from wood that meant that, more trees had to be cut and processed industrially causing harmful gases to be released in the atmosphere. The papers also caused pollution as the landfill sites became overloaded of wastes and as more papers were produced the more waste papers were released in companies and dumped in various parts of the world. As time went by the need of cleaning up the environment was witnessed which led to the introduction of Paper recycling and electronic communication so that paper-based computing was reduced and that was when Green computing was introduced.
The importance of Green Computing.Technology was introduced in the world to make life easier and to save time and reduce workloads. However, it has led to many environmental issues such as Carbon emissions, deforestation and other massive pollutions, which have a negative impact in human living. This is why Technology has emerged to another stage where they have to accommodate the environment other than destroying it; this is why new types of technologies has been introduced to accommodate the environment by running in less harmful ways to the environment, which led to solutions of the environmental issues.
Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 1: Reasons for adopting green solutions
In the world, companies, industries and businesses work on enormous volumes of data, where the Information Processing Cycle is mostly used but this all comes with a cost to both businesses and the environment. All these computer systems used to collect and process data use up a huge amount of power, both to run legions of servers and to cool them. The IT industry has begun to use:
These are technologies specifically designed to reduce large quantities of data and workloads and they help avoid the massive power consumption and become greener. They are also affordable and resource-efficient.
These technologies are beneficial as they:
Technical Techniques to reduce power consumption.VirtualizationVirtualization refers to the act of creating an indirect type of something instead of an actual one mainly computer hardware, storage devices, and computer network resources. Virtualization saves power in such a way that things can run into one hardware device or software by multiple computers. For example Running one or more applications that are not supported by the host OS. This example accommodates the consolidation of a server where one larger physical server replaces the smaller ones to decrease the need for more hardware resources such as CPUs, and hard drives. This in turn reduces the amount of power consumption.
Blade ServersBlade servers are considered as green because the majority of power supplies improve their efficiency rate, when the load increases. For instance, Blade servers with share power supplies could easily reach optimal 50% load and 94% efficiency, because configurations have so few power supplies.
Wireless Storage Area Networks.A Wireless Storage Area Network (WSAN) is a network that connects data storage devices with data servers for larger network of users. Storage devices are connected to a main SAN switch through, which allows remote users to access the storage devices.
Free source softwareFree source software refers to any software with a source code made available for use or modification as users or other developers see fit. It is developed as a public association and is made freely available e.g. Linux.
Telecommuting.Telecommuting refers to a work arrangement in which the employee works outside the office, it may be working from home or any other location Rather than traveling to the office, and the employee communicates via telecommunication links and keep in touch with colleagues and employers via telephone and email. The worker also has an advantage when it comes to hosting meetings because they can use video conferencing. This is environmentally friendly because it reduces the need of travelling which in turn reduces the carbon footprint omitted everyday by vehicles.
Reduced Data FootprintReduced Data Footprint refers to ways of reducing massive data; Fie Compression, Storage virtualization and Thin Provision, can do this.
File Compression: Its reduces a large sized file without deleting any parts of the files; this makes it easier for sharing files as e-mail attachments so there will be no need of sharing the files manually.
Use of e-mails.E-mails are now used for communication to save papers which reduces the cutting down of trees in which papers are made from, Carbon emitted to the atmosphere is also reduced since trees absorb it and use it for its benefits, therefore environment is saved from being filled with polluted atmosphere.
E-Communication.Electronic communication is the use of Emails, instant messaging, websites, blogs, text messaging, voicemail and video messaging to communicate with a large variety of people. Electronic communication is used by businesses to communicate with each other and with their crowd of interest; advertisements and sales are now done online. This in turn serves positive effect in the environment since there will be reduced paper usage and disposal.
Techniques to promote green computing.Recycling unused parts of computers.Computer components are made in such a way that they have a long life, it takes many years to repair computer components, even if the components need to be repaired, there is no need for disposing old computer components since green computing allows recycling of unused components. The environment is harmed if computer components such as batteries are deposited in the soil, the chemicals contaminated in the battery will be deposited in the soil, thus damaging its nutrients making it hard for crops to grow in that soil, and therefore green computing is needed to save the soil.
Advantages of IT for GreenIt makes data centres and computing devices to be more energy efficient.
Cons of IT for GreenAlthough going green is for minimizing the negative impacts that energy consumption and pollution have on the environment, there are also some disadvantages of going green.
Initial Costs: The start amount of going green is too high
Inadequate savings: Green buildings and vehicles tend to use less energy. The problem is that the savings generated by going green are often less than expected; they do not make up for the initial cost quickly enough to make them economically viable.
Competition in a business: In the business world, going green can be an attractive goal to gain goodwill and consumer support, but unless green improvements are economically viable, it can put a business at a competitive disadvantage.
Marginal Impact: if everyone were to go green, it would have a significant and noticeable impact, but not everyone can be convinced to go green and many believe that doing so has no real impact outside of the economics. This makes going green a personal choice for many, which does not necessarily result in concrete economic or environmental benefits.
Ways of alerting people about the importance of IT for GreenEducate people about recycling: Communities must form organisations where they will educate each other about recycling old computing devices instead of disposing them; they must also form partnership with recycling companies so they can be able to recycle their devices properly.
Form organisation to educate people about IT for Green: many people are still unaware of the new technologies including IT for Green itself. They need to be educated about it so that the more many people are aware of it the more IT for Green will be used in industries. This will save environment since the energy sources will have less negative impact on it.
Teach about cloud computing: if many people can be able to do cloud computing which is to store files online, there will be no need to use hard drives. Therefore the will be less usage of Hard Drives and disposal of them will be reduced.
Urge employers to use Telecommuting in their businesses, this is to reduce carbon footprint because employees will not be travelling to work every day with transport which contributes about 65% in air pollution.
In terms of the use of technology educate people to:
Power down when not in use to avoid unnecessary power consumption.
Figure 2: Renewable energy
Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 2: Renewable energy
Use Renewable energy(Solar energy)
This diagram covers all the ways to go green at home and can help you contribute to protecting the environment. Using renewable energy such as solar energy r wind is sustainable and does not produce harmful emissions such as burning fossil fuels. All these appliances labelled in the diagram uses less power when plugged in an actual electrical power system and saves energy by using renewable solar energy.
Results.It has been found that Green computing is a well-known tool to tackle the environmental issues the world is facing and is positively effective since the statistics of certain environmental issues have been dropping down. There are also problems that are still encountered because some individuals do not follow nor believe in difference that green computing can and has made for the past few years. Therefore, green computing has now became much of a choice to people rather than a way to save the environment, which means a person chooses for himself whether they will follow the aspects of green computing. It has also came to attention that some other industries and companies are not very familiar with the new systems that work in an eco-friendly way, and some do not want to even use those systems they believe it will only make their workplaces playgrounds. For example, an employer does not consider his company to allow employees to telecommute because he believes that it will only make his employees lazy and submit their work late.
According to the research, there are only few cities, which are familiar with IT for green, and these cities includes:
The research shows that most of the people who familiar with IT for Green are people from cities and those who are from rural they have not enough information about the concept of IT for Green and. It would be a best thing rural people and others who are still not familiar with IT for Green to be educated because the more people know about this concepts there more it will be used and technology will have less negative impact on the environment.
Introducing IT for Green: Eco-Friendly Computing.. (2019, Nov 29). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/it-for-green-essay
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