One of the fastest growing industries in the United States is green computing.  It represents a move toward businesses with a triple bottom line, economic, social, and environmental.  Green computing focuses on the fast growing electronic waste (e-waste) component of the total waste system.  According to the EPA, e-waste represents approximately 2% of municipal waste.  The contents of e-waste can have a much higher impact on public health than its mere 2% would suggest.  For example, glass monitors contain high levels of lead.  The process of manufacturing electronics uses over 1000 chemicals some of which like mercury, and cadmium have been linked to cancer.  Once those monitors and electronic components are crushed and deep in the land fill, the toxins they release over time have the potential to mix with our drinking water.

There has been a strong industry response to e-waste from companies like Sun Microsystems, Microsoft and Apple.  Those companies are actively involved in promoting programs that would recycle and reuse computer hardware and keep electronic waste out of the waste stream.  Companies like IBM have been promoting virtualization, a software approach to reducing the number of computers in a data center.

The federal government has been actively involved in promoting green computing.  In 1992 the EPA established a program called Energy Star.  While it is a voluntary program of labeling, it has led to the emergence of energy efficient monitors, computers and other electronic and electrical devices.  The EPA recently said that there are thousands of organizations that have partnered with the federal government to demonstrate a commitment to protecting the environment through energy efficiency; that over a 100 thousand families live in homes that have earned the Energy Star and Americans have purchased more than 1 billion Energy Star products.

 Here are a few steps that responsible citizens and business people can do to promote a sustainable information technology infrastructure in our community. 

	Purchase low power hardware by following the EPA Energy Star guidelines.
	When ever possible use power saving options on our computers.
	Use flat panel monitors instead of glass monitors.
	Pick a computer chip that leverages the computer output to power consumption.  For example, the AMD quad core processor effectively doubles the output of the dual core yet uses the same amount of energy and thermal power.
	Recycle: Computers with local non-profits like The Arc of the Virginia Peninsula.  Who will disassemble the components and recycle or reuse them.  Batteries in our cell phones and laptop computers.  Ink cartridges and printers.
	Before purchasing a new computer, consult web sites like www.epeat.net to compare performance and environmental attributes.

As business people, we often just look at the economics of an issue in making a decision.  As strategic thinkers and planners we should also consider the social and environmental impact of our decisions.  Many savings in operating cost can be earned through smart energy and cooling practices.  Sometimes all it takes is a look in a different direction and a commitment to a higher ideal to see a more profitable way of doing business.