Taskforce to cut 'cyber warming'

bbc ^ | 06/10/07

[TornadoAlley3]

IT equipment is thought to be as harmful as the airline industry

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the production, operation and disposal of computers is to be the aim of a new government taskforce. Computers and other IT equipment have been blamed for causing as much global warming as the airline industry.

The taskforce will oversee the piloting of a "green PC" service in which individual machines use 98% less energy than standard PCs.

IT equipment is thought to generate 35m tonnes of harmful CO2 gas each year.

[Sarvana]

So it’s not enough that I bike to work every day, I now have to end my internet addiction as well? Darn it.

[Publius6961]

I’ve been thinking of adding another to my present 4 computers...

[Old Professer]

Could you practice meditation while you’re at it? I understand that true Yogis only breathe three times a minute and that’s before they roll over and light up a cigarette.

[P-40]

Funny story but I had a friend whose company was contracted to rewire an old five story residential building back in the 90s because the rise of the Internet was causing everyone to buy computers and it was putting a strain on the electrical system. Then came LCD monitors...the laptops...then CFLs....

[sourcery]

• The Deniers
• Bright sun, warm Earth. Coincidence?
• Climate Momentum Shifting: Prominent Scientists Reverse Belief in Man-made Global Warming - Now Skeptics
• The Real 'Inconvenient Truth'
• New findings indicate today's greenhouse gas levels not unusual
• Climate Change: Incorrect information on pre-industrial CO2
• Global Warming as a Religion
• I Was On the Global Warming Gravy Train (By David Evans)
• Still Waiting for Greenhouse
• GREENIE WATCH
• (Streaming video) The Great Global Warming Swindle - Documentary Film
• 'The global-warmers were bound to attack, but why are they so feeble?'

[Myrddin]

Power and cooling systems have been strained by electronics for a long time. It was always an issue as I installed new equipment in the central office or on the computer room floor.

The advent of LCD monitors is probably the biggest improvement to cutting heat/power. The faster CPUs consume more power and generate more heat. At any given time I have 9 computers running...plus lots of networking equipment. Using a KVM switch and an LCD monitor reduces the heat load. Putting the equipment into the basement allows operation in a naturally cool environment without need for electricity gobbling air conditioning. The upstairs office is just too warm to be usable during the summer. I spend my work time in the basement. In the winter, I don't have to worry about heating the upstairs office. The computers provide the heat and any excess is handled by cracking a window open to the subfreezing air outside.