Morgan Midgett
Kishore Jayakumar
Susan Hannes
Daniel In
Pavan Yalamanchili
Introduction
 As consumers are becoming more environmentally
aware and energy costs are rising, businesses have to
adapt environmentally-friendly practices to keep up
with the changing times
 Many business owners are afraid of the costs of
switching to greener practices; however, small
investments can reap large gains. Green practices can
save money while keeping customers happy and
helping the planet
Definition and Examples
 Green computing is the study and practice of using computing
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resources efficiently.
According to Wikipedia, there are 4 steps to green computing:
Green use — reducing the energy consumption of computers and
other information systems as well as using them in an environmentally
sound manner
Green disposal — refurbishing and reusing old computers and
properly recycling unwanted computers and other electronic
equipment
Green design — designing energy-efficient and environmentally
sound components, computers, servers, cooling equipment, and data
centers
Green manufacturing — manufacturing electronic components,
computers, and other associated subsystems with minimal impact on
the environment
Examples Continued
 turning off computers when not in use, or at least
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putting them in "sleep mode"
using energy efficient monitors and cooling systems
using firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware to reduce
amount of eWaste
properly recycling old computers and unwanted
computer equipment
printing on both sides of the paper
Background Information
 In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
launched Energy Star, a voluntary label awarded to
computing products that succeed in minimizing use of
energy while maximizing efficiency
 Resulted in the widespread adoption of sleep mode among
consumer electronics
 The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
(ACPI) specification is an open standard for unified
operating system-centric device configuration and power
management. ACPI, first released in December 1996,
defines platform-independent interfaces for hardware
discovery, configuration, power management and
monitoring.
 Working, Sleep, Stand by, hibernate, shut down
Using Sleep Mode
 The EPA has estimated that providing computers with
“sleep mode” reduces their energy use by 60 to 70
percent – and ultimately could save enough electricity
each year to power Vermont, New Hampshire, and
Maine, cut electric bills by $2 billion, and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 5
million cars.
Why?
 Businesses want to save money by conserving energy
and materials
 Due growing awareness and concern about global
warming/climate change, there has been a societal
shift towards more environmentally-sustainable
practices, and in order to keep consumer support,
businesses must adapt greener practices
Positive Aspects and Benefits
 Reduces ecological footprint
 Uses less energy
 Reduces carbon emissions
 Reuses and recycles materials (computer parts, paper/office
supplies)
 Educates people and raises awareness about eco-friendly
practices
 Energy-efficient building design
 Saves businesses money
 Uses less energy
 Purchase less materials
 Use less paper
Challenges
 Sometimes, adapting to green practices may cost more
money in the short-term
 But it will save in the long-term
 Businesses may be unwilling to change practices out of
habit
 People’s laziness and forgetfulness (turning off
monitors, recycling)
 General apathy about environment
 Lack of awareness about environment
Opinion
 It is a corporation’s responsibility to employ green practices
when it comes to computing.
 Even if there are financial costs in the short-term, the long-
term environmental benefits outweigh them
 Long-term economic impact
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Resources will be gone if there is not enough conservation
The tragedy of the commons refers to a dilemma described in an
influential article by that name written by Garrett Hardin and first
published in the journal Science in 1968. The article describes a
situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently, and
solely and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will
ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear
that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen.