In February a reader of You Can Go Green suggested that I post about green computers. Here is what she said, "My "Going Green" tip is definitely to suggest green computers to everyone I know. I had no idea until recently that computers account for 2% of the world's carbon emissions - the same as airplanes! Yet the airline industry gets all the flak and I'm sitting here typing away on a PC that uses way too much energy.I think green computers are still a relatively unknown issue, but they deserve a bit of publicity so I hope you'll feature the idea in a post!"I had no idea that computers accounted for the same amount of the world's carbon emissions that airplanes do so I looked into it. It seems in 2004 the green computer was described in this way, "all-in-one unit has no fan, is constructed with a lead-free motherboard and contains no boron in the LCD display. As a result, it uses less power and produces less heat than traditional PCs, and is also Energy Star compliant."
Today, green computers have made their way into a huge market. A green computer actually means that the company that makes it takes much more responsibility for the process in making the computer and in the life and disposal of the computer. A lot of people have no idea how much harm to the environment is caused by simply making a computer and then when it is disposed of that harm continues as it goes to the landfill.
Europe and Japan require manufacturers of computers to be responsible for the materials that can harm the envrionment when their computers are disposed of therefore making those companies more likely to use more environmentally friendly materials. The USA has not embraced this movement as quickly but look for this to happen in the future.
