Celebrate Earth Day’s 42nd Birthday By Turning Your Power Management On

One of the great things about leading Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) is that that I get to collaborate with people and organizations around the world working to drive a more sustainable planet. And whether I’m working with CSCI memberson technical issues related to increasing the energy efficiency of computing technologies, or working with enterprises and organizations to demonstrate the environmental and bottom-line benefits the use of power management on laptops, PCs and servers can deliver, collaboration has always proven to be an important element in moving sustainability programs forward.

Earth Day 2012 is on April 22 and is one of the most important annual events for bringing people and organizations together to collaborate on driving the awareness of issues that are impacting the health of the planet. Now in its 42nd year, Earth Day is part of Earth Day Network, an organization that mobilizes over one billion people in 192 countries through year-round advocacy, education, public policy and consumer campaigns to protect the environment. Earth Day 2012 will feature events held around the world  – including a massive event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., – where people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds will gather to voice their appreciation for the planet and to demand its protection.

The theme of Earth Day 2012 is Mobilize the Earth™, a theme that complements Earth Day Network’s “A Billion Acts of Green – Renewable Energy for All” campaign where people and organizations are working to call for clean and efficient solutions that can provide sustainable energy to everyone on the planet. It’s a bold campaign with aggressive goals and is a great example of how people and organizations are collaborating to do more for the planet every day of the year. While many of our members will participate in Earth Day activities, they are also leading the way in doing more for the planet all year long.

CSCI leadership is made up of representatives from Cisco, Emerson Network Power, Google, Intel, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Samsung and World Wildlife Fund. Since its launch in 2007 the organization has grown to nearly 700 corporate members. These organizations are collaborating to drive the development and adoption of energy efficient technologies for consumers, businesses and organizations, and are leaders in driving the use of power management on laptops, PCs, tablets and servers.

CSCI members are also leaders in driving sustainability results. To-date, CSCI and its partners have helped the global ICT (information and communications technologies) community save over $2 billion in annual energy costs by decreasing annual CO2 emissions from computing equipment by 41 – 45 million metric tons. But it isn’t just our corporate members driving these environmental and financial savings. People around the world are playing an important role in helping to reduce green house gas emissions from computing equipment by purchasing technologies that have proven to be energy efficient and by turning their laptop and PC power management on.

Well over 11,000 people from around the world have supported CSCI by taking the CSCI pledge to use power management and to purchase energy efficient computing technologies. These people are among the leaders in driving the use of power management within homes and workplaces worldwide and regularly help spread the word about the benefits power management can deliver. And the benefits can be significant. Depending on the price of electricity in your area, the age of your computer and the operating system you use, turning power management on – on just one computer — could save you up to $60 a year in energy costs.

As Earth Day 2012 quickly approaches find an event in your area and join the millions of people around the world who are collaborating in cities and towns to move green initiatives forward. And while you’re at it, take just a few minutes and a few clicks to turn your power management on. It’s a set-it-and-forget-it step to help ensure you’re doing your part for the planet all year long and a great way to collaborate with others who are doing their part to drive a cleaner and more sustainable future.

About the author – George O. Goodman is the Executive Director of Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Follow and interact with Goodman on Twitter at @gogoodman. Follow CSCI on Twitter at @CSCI_Tweets.

Related: ZDNet: Climate Savers to software developers: Design for energy-efficiency

With a forward by Dr Kirk Cameron and authored by Bob Steigerwald, Chris D. Lucero, Chakravarthy Akella and Abhishek R. Agrawal, the book highlights how computer systems – from embedded systems up through enterprise data centers – can save power by making energy-efficient hardware and software decisions at the design stage. Readers will understand how computers use energy, how to measure energy use, and specific hardware and software design methodologies that lead to energy savings.

Congratulations to the authors for providing the industry with a comprehensive resource for driving the development of greener and more energy efficient computing and networking systems. We’ve added the book to the CSCI library of energy efficient resources. You can read all about Energy Aware Computing and meet the authors on the Intel Press website here.

And right now we’re running a poll – a simple question designed to raise the awareness of the financial and environmental benefits of power management on laptops and PCs. So come check us out on LinkedIn, get to know our group and take a few seconds to respond to our poll. Your input will help us further drive the power management message and will help spread the word about how using power management is one of the simplest ways to green at home and at work.