Vertatique has been tracking the Climate Savers initiative over the past year and I'm pleased to see its site continue to grow in value. They now offer a robust set of free software applications to help individuals and enterprises tune the power settings of their equipment. I'll report on these tools as I try them out.

National Geographic's "High Tech Trash" is loaded with everything from an interactive toxic tour of a computer to an e-waste quiz to stats like ". . . in the U.S. [in 2005], between 1.5 and 1.9 million tons of computers, TVs, VCRs, monitors, cell phones, and other equipment were discarded. If all sources of electronic waste are tallied, it could total 50 million tons a year worldwide . . ." The Photo Gallery tells the story most powerfully - check it out!

ICT infrastructures for telework are a key component of a green computing strategy, reducing both local commuting and long-distance travel costs and carbon. A Harvard Business Review Editor's Blog post, "The Telecommuting Imperative", takes on executive reluctance to advance telework. Among other motivations cited for moving more aggressively:

Vertatique usually focuses on creating a more sustainable e-world, so it is worth occasionally noting that the e-world itself can be more sustainable than physical alternatives.  A recent study by the American Consumer Institute finds that "wide adoption and use of broadband applications can achieve a net reduction of 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas over 10 years, which, if converted into energy saved, would constitute 11% of annual U.S. oil imports." The report cites these specific opportunities, among others:

Active Power Management is implemented through software that allows an enterprise to control energy consumption of its desktop and/or data center equipment.  Typically, this is done through a central administrative function that can tune the power consumption of all computers on an enterprise network.

Compare with Behavioral Power Management.

More about Active Power Management at Vertatique's Computer Power Management Resources.

A PC Today magazine article advocates choosing laptops over desktops:

1.  Smaller form factor means lower impact on both the manufacturing and recycling end of the lifecycle.

2.  Battery life issues force a low energy consumption design: ~50% less than a desktop.

3.  Many laptops comply with European standards for the reduction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and recycling (WEEE).

Interesting stats from the article . . .

EPEAT "is a procurement tool to help institutional purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also provides a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products, and provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products."