Being Green and the Impact of Technology

In today's world we are asked to put emphasis on reducing our carbon footprint. The government has released their own campaign to encourage us all to help the environment and save money by doing such things as using energy saving light bulbs and switching the television off stand by mode to name just two. But  exactly how does the IT you use effect your carbon footprint?

In 2007 Gartner published a report which said that ICT (computers, servers, printers) accounts for around 2% of the worlds global CO2 emissions. A figure which they claimed was equivalent to aviation! And recently in the news a study by a Harvard academic stated that searching by Google uses about as much energy as boiling a kettle. Google of course say these figures are incorrect and claim it is more like 0.2 grams rather than the 7 grams quoted.

So how can we reduce search engine emissions? One suggestion is to use a search engine other than Google. For example Blackle uses a custom Google search, but because the screen is black they claim it takes less energy to view. To date they state they have saved 1,053,096.222 Watt hours of energy compared to Google. However there is much debate about whether or not reducing the colours on the screen helps modern laptop screens. And at the end of the day you will always be using energy to power search engines.

It could be argued that in the long term technology is actually saving energy. Global meetings can be scheduled online so participants do not need to travel extensive distances. And the amount of paper which can be saved from emails being sent, rather than letters, and online billing, instead of paper documents, has the potential to reduce carbon emissions. 

But what else can you do to reduce technology related emissions? There are a few simple things which can help to save energy from computers:  Change your power settings so if you are away from your desk your monitor will automatically switch off, saving energy. Or switch it off if you know you won't be using it for some time. I know it sounds so simple but do you really need to have you laptop plugged in overnight? And if you are wanting to invest in a new computer, laptop computers are traditionally more energy efficient than desktop computers.

What do you think? Do you have any of your own energy saving tips for technology?