Environmental Impact
Implications
Energy Use
In today’s world computers are an fundamental part of daily life. At home, at work and on the go, computers are quickly evolving. Computers have many positive effects on lives, however, they also place a large strain on the environment.
Approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide own personal computers. In the United States, roughly 164 million people own computers.
The average PC uses 746 kilowatts of power each year, requiring more power than a refrigerator, which uses only 500 kilowatts.
Lifecycle of a Computer
The lifecycle of a computer can have a negative impact on the environment during the stages of its lifecycle:
The manufacture of computers requires a large amount of fossil fuels and chemicals to be used
They rely on power plants to generate enough electricity for them to run. This causes millions of tonnes of greenhouse gasses to be emitted every year
When computers are no longer needed it leads to millions of tonnes of electrical waste being dumped in landfills each year. This can lead to the pollution and contamination of soil and water.
Ways to Save Energy
Monitor Settings
Many monitors allow users to alter settings to save energy.
reduce the 'brightness' setting as much as possible
activate efficiency mode if the monitor supports this setting
do not use a screen saver
use energy efficient monitors:
Power-down Settings
Similar to monitors, computers can stay switched on for long periods of time even when they are not being used.
There are settings that allow computers to power down at specified times each day. This is often used in offices, colleges, universities and schools where users may forget to switch them off.
Stand-by Mode
Sometimes called sleep, this is a setting that switches the computer screen off and stops the running of files and programs to save power.
The computer isn’t switched off and open files will not be closed or lost.
When you wake the computer up you can continue working on all the files and programs you were using previously.