In the data center market, the need for green technology solutions to reduce energy consumption is rapidly becoming imperative. That’s according to executives who gathered for a panel Wednesday during Computerworld’s Storage Networking World conference.
Going green is no longer just a matter of moral rightness or social responsibility, Computerworld reported. It is now becoming a business necessity for data center operations to know how much energy each device consumes and to find ways of reducing that energy consumption. It simply costs too much to not do so.
“If you use more energy [than presently] and it's more expensive, expect your costs to go up,” said Andrew Fanara, team leader for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star Product Specifications Development Group. “These problems will intensify.”
Last month, Computerworld reported, the EPA said it is working on a benchmark to help IT managers compare their own energy usage with that of other data center operations. A server specification should be complete by year’s end, with a green storage benchmark (in development by the Storage Networking Industry Association) expected even sooner.
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The rising cost of oil will do more for the "green" movement than any hypocritical screed from a celebrity whose idea of conservation is purchasing carbon offsets. I firmly believe oil will go to $150 per barrel by year-end, and will double again from there within three years. At that price, any energy guzzling device simply becomes too expensive not to replace with a more efficient model.
I published an article that more fully expresses my views and what consumers can do now to prepare for higher oil prices.
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/environment/March-April-08/Energy-Saving-Techniques-Crucial-With-Peak-Oil-a-Reality.html
You are quite right about this. Debra Chrapaty, Microsoft's top executive in charge of greening the company's data centers, gave an amazing presentation on the subject on May 1. If you have Silverlight installed on your browser, you can watch it for free at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mgmtsummit/
I agree with the first comment. The greed from "big oil" is really going to drive the green revolution. With the high prices of oil, consumers will be left search for alternatives or more efficient sources of energy. I don't like paying $4 for gas, but it is already doing wonders for the environment. I think the use of public transportation is already up by 10-15%.
I totally agree with the commentators here that it is the price of gas that will make people make environment friendly choices rather than a need to save the planet. If people buy EVs today it at least as much in order to thumb their nose at passing gas stations as to reduce their carbon footprint, perhaps more so.