Cow dung to power datacenters

Courtesy: Silicon India



Cow dung may soon be used as a source of energy to power computers in the near future as the researchers at HP are developing datacenters that can be powered on energy generated from cow dung.

The company has released a study called "Design of Farm Waste-Driven Supply Side Infrastructure for Data Centers" that draws attention to biogas energy created from cow dung. The company plans to build datacentres on dairy farms where they would be hooked up to power plants fueled by waste.


Planet Green explained the process of transforming cow manure to biofuel called biogas. In this process, manure is first collected from the cows, and put under an anaerobic digestion process, releasing methane gas. This gas can be used as natural gas or diesel fuel in generators that produce electricity.

It apparently takes 10,000 cows to produce enough manure to power a small computer center for a bank.
One cow produces enough waste every day to power the televisions in three typical households. However, around 10,000 cows would be needed to produce enough to run a typical data center and meet the energy needs of the farm.

Green IT Week Virtual Event - Major 3 day Virtual Conference

Courtesy: GreenIt

Hosted by: ComputersOff.ORG
The event will start on: 01 Jun 10 09:00
And will end on: 03 Jun 10 17:00
At GreenITWeek.ORG
GreenITWeek.ORG ,
http://www.greenitweek.org/virtual-event

Green IT is a goal many businesses aspire to, however, to date it has been implemented inconsistently both within organisations and across the world. Organisations are missing a centralised, cohesive initiative that will enable them to both understand the current research, enabling them to plan for the future; and learn about practical implementation of environmentally sustainable IT practices they can undertake today.

ComputersOFF.ORG wants to shine a spotlight Green IT and pave the way for organisations to initiate, promote and support green IT discussions, emboldening employees with the knowledge and innovative ideas to reduce the environmental footprint of the organisation.

International Green IT Awareness Week (1st-7th June 2010) is being developed to encourage organisations during this week to bring together their IT leadership with their business managers, CFO, CEO and corporate environment managers to start the discussion around what their organisation can do to green their IT infrastructure.

On the other side, vendors across the world are working tirelessly to educate organisations on the technology available to assist them with reducing the environmental impact of their IT infrastructure and in turn reducing their carbon footprint and showing their corporate and social responsibility initiatives.

International Green IT Awareness Week will see a variety of programs and initiatives hosted by public and private sector organisations globally. The activities planned for “International Green IT Awareness Week” are valuable in their own right in raising awareness and support for green IT initiatives and inciting continued and internally supported discussion within public and private organisations.

The main outcome of this week is to encourage individuals and organisations to demand more from themselves and their partners, holding each other to account for our impact on the environment.

Some of the topics covered during the week will include:-

•What is Green IT?
•What are we doing about Green IT?
•What is the latest in Green IT research?
•Why set up Green IT initiatives?
•What do we have to gain from implementing Green IT measures?
•What are the Green IT Quick Wins?How can ICT make our company and our staff more sustainable long term?
•How do we become Green IT Champions?
•How do organisations undertake cultural change for green IT?
•What are the top examples of organisations achieving an environmentally sustainable IT?
•What are the risks if we wait too long to take actions?
And we aim to talk about a range of solutions including:-

•Developing a Green IT Strategy
•Data Centre optimisation and consolidation
•Corporate Governance
•Cultural Change
•Lifecycle Management
•Paper
•Water in Data Centers
•Reduce Energy usage
•Energy Efficiency
•Green IT financial incentives
•Storage
•eWaste
•Best practices, metrics
•Assessing, Measuring and Monitoring
•Cloud computing
•Technology replacements for travel
•Green Procurement
•Current standards, legislation and associations

The ExpertRating Free Green Living Course

This course had 300,000 readers till date translating into 600,000,000 kg of carbon emissions saved by learning green living techniques.

ExpertRating, an ISO 9001:2000 company welcomes you to read the green living course and help conserve power to save the environment. This course is the internet's most popular resource for people wanting to understand and adapt to green living techniques for preserving our planet. The course is completely free and designed for everyone who is interested in going green.

Who can read the course and make a difference.

Teachers & Educators

Children & Students

Working Men and Women from all walks of life

House wives

Corporate Decision Makers

Government Administrators

Read the Green Living Course

2010 Eco-Challenge

More information can be found @ Filter For Good

Brita is thrilled to announce the return of its Eco-Challenge Student Grant Program. Last summer, Brita sent three of Canada’s most promising young environmentalists on a life-changing educational expedition to the Arctic. Now, they are looking to send three more deserving students to the Arctic this summer through this incredible program.

Are you a high school student* who has done great things to help protect the environment at your school or in your community? Would you like to learn more about the impact we are having on the planet in one of the world’s greatest classrooms? Read on to learn how you could win an educational expedition to the Canadian Arctic this August, courtesy of Brita!

If you are selected, you’ll join explorer Geoff Green and his team from the award-winning organization Students on Ice on an educational expedition to the Arctic. There, you’ll learn about climate change, environmental degradation, flora & fauna, glaciology, and much more with leading researchers, experts and scientists in one of the world’s greatest classrooms. You’ll experience nature in ways you may have only dreamed of, and you will learn to see the planet with new perspectives as you are introduced to Inuit culture, and make new connections with the natural world.

Register Now!

To apply (and please make sure you read the qualifying criteria first), fill in the registration form and submit a 2-4 minute video that showcases your leadership and what you’re doing in your community to help protect the environment. Don’t forget to tell us what you hope to gain from a trip to the Arctic. We’ve got some pretty impressive judges on our panel, so make it count!

Get your submissions in by May 31, or you’ll miss the boat**. We’ll let you know by July 9 if you should start packing your bags.

* Contest is open to any student who will be attending high school in his or her province or territory of residence as of September, 2010 and who will be no older than 19 years of age as of August 4, 2010.

**2009 Eco-Challenge grant recipients do not qualify for this year’s grant. You must be able to travel between August 3 and August 21, 2010 to qualify.

Going Green 2010 Calendar

Courtesy: Cafe Press

If you’ve made a commitment to go green this past year, it’s only natural that you will want to share your enthusiasm for green living with your family and friends this holiday season. Our “Going Green 2010” wall calendar is a great gift idea that features simple ideas each month to help that special person on your list go green in 2010. Topics covered include: January--Going Paperless, February—Recycling, March--Safe & Natural Home Cleaners, April--Chemical-free Lawn Care, May--Eating Organic, June--Safer Dry Cleaning, July--Saving Energy, August--Green Back to School Ideas, September--Home Décor, October--Alternatives to Disposable Diapers, November--Sustainable Clothing, December--Green Holiday Ideas.

You can purchase the copy @ http://www.cafepress.co.uk/goinggreen2010.411505233

The Greening of Labor

Courtesy: WWI

"Green jobs" - high-quality employment in renewable energy and other environmentally sustainable sectors - are uplifting communities while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, jobs in fossil fuel industries, particularly coal, continue to decline.

Worldwatch reports regularly on the growing field of green jobs across the globe.

Countries Turn to Green Jobs for Economic Growth

February 9, 2009

The United States passed an economic stimulus plan this week, joining China, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union in a historic series of green job investments.

Opinion: Department of Green Labor December 22, 2008

Barack Obama followed through with his campaign pledge of change last week with the nomination of green jobs advocate Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary.

U.S. Election Brings Green Jobs in Focus October 29, 2008

In the United States, Europe, and United Nations, green jobs are being championed as a way to alleviate the global financial crisis.

Solar Offers A Future for Kenya's Youth August 5, 2008

An emerging solar energy industry offers green jobs in Kenya. Whether this growth will trickle down to the country's marginalized youth remains to be seen.

The Afterlife of German Coal Mining July 30, 2008

As German coal mining comes to an end, already-high unemployment rates are expected to worsen in industrial Ruhr Valley. Are green jobs the answer?

In Windy West Texas, An Economic Boom July 23, 2008

The center of U.S. wind energy development, Sweetwater, Texas, has undergone a major economic boom in the past four years. It may be a sign of green jobs to come.

Green Jobs Find International Support March 14, 2008

Citizens groups and government leaders are all singing praises for "green-collared" jobs. The movement may be the savior of climate change legislation.

Toilet paper wipes out 270,000 trees a day

Worldwide, the equivalent of almost 270,000 trees is either flushed or dumped in landfills every day and roughly 10 percent of that total is attributable to toilet paper, according to the latest issue of World Watch magazine.

"Meanwhile, growing populations, adoption of Western lifestyles, and sanitation improvements in developing countries are driving the increased use of toilet paper," the magazine added. "The result is that forests in both the global North and South are under assault by paper companies competing to fill consumer demand."

Wikimedia Commons image by Tristanb

"Steadily increasing demand for toilet paper in developing countries is a critical factor in the impact that toilet paper manufacturer have on forests around the world," says author Noelle Robbins in a Worldwatch Institute news release. "And with the increasing pressure to reduce and discontinue the use of old growth forests, the move is on to tree plantations."

But according to Robbins, this cure could be worse than the disease, Worldwatch said.

"While the paper industry often touts plantations as the solution to creating an ongoing supply of virgin pulp and fiber, these monocultures often displace indigenous plant and animal life, require tremendous amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and soak up large quantities of water.

"While some toilet paper manufacturers rely on forests, others turn to trash cans for their raw materials.

"Advocates of recycled toilet paper point out that converting virgin pulp to toilet paper requires more water than recycled paper and makes use of the tons of already used paper that fills landfills. Various estimates place the quantity of waste paper tossed into U.S. dumps and landfills at 35-40 percent of total landfilled mass."

"Toilet tissue, whether manufactured from virgin pulp or recycled paper, will continue to be an important part of daily life in Western countries and in developing countries emphasizing improved sanitation to mitigate health concerns," Robbins said.

"Education of consumers; improvements in quality, pricing, and marketing recycled products; and willingness to consider toilet paper alternatives such as water for cleansing must be pursued to meet the needs of a growing global population."

Read the article "Flushing Forests"

The Worldwatch Institute is a Washington, D.C.-based independent research organization that provides fact-based analysis of critical global issues. The Institute's three main program areas include Climate & Energy, Food & Agriculture, and the Green Economy.

Courtesy: NGC