Jerome Woody writes about green computing. That raises the question: What would it take to make computers truly sustainable?
The first thing to note is that while we do need to consider the energy computers use in operation, it is dwarfed by what it takes to make them in the first place. Back in 2004, Eric Williams estimated that more than 80 percent of the energy a computer will use during its lifetime is consumed during manufacture [1]. To gain perspective on the total impact of computer manufacture (rather than just greenhouse emissions): the fossil fuels burned and water polluted during manufacture of a computer system typically weigh more than an SUV.
How do we reduce this?