The EPA estimates that by 2011, the country’s data
centers will exceed 100 billion kWh, for an annual electricity cost of $7.4
billion.Wizards at the University of
Michigan are working to save up to 75% of that by putting servers to sleep.
According to PC Magazine,
idling computers will emit 20 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 4
million cars and wasting $2.8 billion a year.
Will RFID enable you to quickly find a parking space
without driving around looking for one, or for the water heater to notify you
it’s failing, or for your washer to turn on in the middle of the night when
electricity is cheapest?IBM thinks so,
and believes its Smarter
Planet Initiative, along with Linux, is the key to making this happen.
The combined emissions of U.S. papermaking, data
centers and client energy demand would fill over 100 Empire State Buildings
with solidified CO2 (dry ice) each year, each building with 37 million cubic
feet of space, with each cubic foot weighing 100 pounds. Oh, and if you own an iPhone for three years,
you’ll release 121 pounds of greenhouse gas, the same as 12 100-watt light
bulbs glowing for 691 hours or a car engine burning 603 gallons of gasoline.So says Don
Carli.