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Yes Virginia, there is a "Dummies" book for Green IT
Green IT for Dummies doesn't break any rules out of "For Dummies" tried and tested formula, other than a couple of splashes of green on the on the front of back of the loud yellow color. On the other hand, it does provide a lot of clue if you are starting from ground zero in building a plan to going green in your data center.
Resist the urge to skip the first chapter – "Win-Win-Winning with Green IT" – it may be a bit too rah-ray for some, but there are a number of interesting pointers to more information and factoids that will provide useful. For example, some college grads will accept $13,000 less in lower starting salary to work for/on Green IT initiatives; you have to love being able to save the planet while saving money on a new hire.
The real fun starts in "Part II: Getting a Running Start," with a discussion on standards and metrics and areas to look for efficiencies, and carbon reduction options before heading to what I'd consider the most important chapter: "Go to Green in 12 Months: Putting Together a Plan." The authors talk through the office politics of initiating a green strategy, establishing a baseline for measuring success, and options to move forward to improving one's green-ness.
"Part III: Greening the Data Center" may be a little simplistic for most IT people – but read it anyways, because your boss or his boss is likely going to study it for green clues. The section provides a thorough walkthrough of everything that might contribute to a greener data center, ranging from building on a "brown field" industrial site to slimming down your data storage needs and getting rid of tapes.
Latter parts -- "Greening the Office" and "Greening the Organization" will not be for everyone, but if your organization has a corporate-wide mandate to promote green practices, then discussions on reducing desktop energy waste and moving to practices/technologies such as videoconferencing and telecommuting are relevant.
Of course, the bittersweet irony of Green IT for Dummies is the fact that it's about 360 pages of paper that have been printed and shipped to sit in libraries and bookshelves across the country. In a more green world, we'd pick up the electronic copy through an email.
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Dummies for Green IT --By Doug Mohney
Views and Opinions on Green IT (Nov 17 2009) Carbon Footprint , Emissions
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Data Center Design: Construction, Container, Monitoring, Power and CoolingPolicy: Cap and Trade, Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Carbon Tax, Emissions
Power: Biomass, Fossil Fuel, Geothermal, Hydro, Nuclear, Solar, Wind
Application: Cloud Computing, Grid Computing
Technology: Microblogging, Networking, Servers, Storage, Supercomputer
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On 11/23/09 judgecorp said: