Transcript Environmental Issues Computing Science

National 5
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Using fossil fuels (oil, gas or coal) produces carbon
dioxide (CO2).
Greenhouse gases are chemicals that prevent heat
escaping from the Earth’s atmosphere, like the
glass panels of a greenhouse.
They allow sunlight through but absorb the heat
that radiates back as the Earth's surface is heated –
trapping the extra heat inside the atmosphere.
Computers contribute about 2% of greenhouse
gases, nearly the same as airlines.
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The carbon footprint = the total
amount of CO2 a person,
household, product or organisation
produces each year as a result of
the energy they use.
Manufacturing computers uses a high amount of energy.
A United Nations study showed that making one desktop computer uses:
 more than 240 kg of fossil fuels (oil and gas)
 22 kg of chemicals goes into making the plastic body and flat
screen
 1500 kg of water is used in the process
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Buying a new computer?
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Do you really need a new one? Could your old
computer be updated by adding more RAM or
installing a new hard disk drive?
If you do need a new computer opt for one of
the low, power, energy efficient computers.
Some retailers use energy ratings to identify
which products are greener.
Video Link – PC Power Consumption
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Computers are used by countless numbers of
people across the world for business and
leisure. IT equipment in the home accounts for
around 13% of electricity used - this has a
huge impact on the environment, adding to our
individual carbon footprint.
Everyday use of computers makes a significant
contribution to global warming.
So how can we save energy when using
computers?
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The best way to save
energy is to turn off the
computer when it is not in
use!
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There are a number of products available to
help cut down your standby electricity
consumption such as standby savers that
turn your printer off at the mains when your
computer is not in use.
Turn down the monitor brightness –the
brightest setting consumes twice the power
used by the dimmest one. On laptops, the
display is the single largest consumer of
energy.
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Screen savers are unnecessary on modern
monitors. Studies show they actually
consume more energy than allowing the
monitor to “go to sleep” when not in use.
Solar energy battery chargers can be used
for laptop computers or smartphones.
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Reuse ink cartridges by having them refilled for a
fraction of the cost of buying new. Many printers
offer an ‘Eco’ or ‘Draft’ mode that reduces the toner
or ink used and should be suitable for many day-today printouts. When they can no longer be refilled,
recycle cartridges.
Reduce by only printing when absolutely necessary.
Pass them on to others in an electronic format (email
or files on a memory stick).
Reuse paper if you are printing out non essential
documents, print on the back of old paper or use it as
scrap paper. Once the paper can no longer be used
put it into a recycling bin and recycle it. Consider
buying recycled paper.
Video Link - How to Green your PC
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We replace our computers more often than any
other type of electronic device – most people have
their TV longer than their computer.
Electronic waste (e-waste) is any broken or
unwanted electrical or electronic device and is
currently the most rapidly-growing type of waste.
If thrown away, they usually end up in a landfill
site. A landfill site is a site for the disposal of
waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of
waste treatment.
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Discarded computer equipment comprises monitors,
printers, hard drives and circuit boards. Such items should
never be thrown out with your household rubbish because
they contain toxic substances and are actually hazardous
waste.
Computers and smartphones are made from many
materials - gold, lead, bromine, cadmium and mercury are
found in high levels - these can release toxins into the
environment, potentially polluting the water that people
and animals drink and the air they breathe.
E-waste often ends up in the developing world as much
waste has been improperly disposed of overseas. There is
increasing concern about the pollution caused by
hazardous chemicals and heavy metals in Africa, Asia and
South America.
Video Link - E-waste recycling
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The WEEE (Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment)
regulations set out rules for the collection,
treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical
and electronic equipment. These include most
products that have a plug or need a battery.
Every year an estimated 2 million tonnes of WEEE
items are discarded by households and companies
in the UK. This includes everything from washing
machines to computer equipment, telephones and
calculators. The regulations apply to businesses
and, unfortunately, not to individuals. At present
most people’s old computers end up in landfill sites.
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It is better to re-use old computers rather than just throwing them
away, often computers can be passed on to someone who can still use
them. Before you recycle your old computer you should make sure
you remove all of your files and data from it. Options to dispose
include:
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Manufacturer Disposal
Professional Waste Disposal
Donation to Charity
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So far we have looked at how computers can add to
climate change but there are ways that computers
actually help us improve the environment and combat
climate change.
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Gather and process climate data so that we can
understand what is going on and predict what might
happen in future. For instance, NASA uses a
supercomputer system called Discover to research
climate change.
Help us create smart technologies that adjust
themselves to reduce their environmental impact, such
as lights that can sense when no one is in the room and
automatically turn off.
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Provide a worldwide virtual laboratory so that
experts can share research and ideas to come
up with better, smarter solutions. This allows
people far away from each other to work
together and also reduces the environmental
impact from people travelling to meet each
other.
Provide paperless communication like email
and online bill paying to help reduce the
amount of trees cut down.
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Today, new computing technologies face a challenge
to be both more efficient and to protect the
environment at the same time.
Some specific examples of creative and imaginative
approaches are cloud computing, grid computing,
telecommuting and downloading music.
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Nowadays, many businesses and
organisations do not own the powerful
computers that process and store their
data. Instead, they buy cheap systems
that allow their workers to access the
Internet and then rent computing power
and data storage space from cloud
computing providers.
This is very green because it means that less resources are
needed to produce fewer computers and less energy is used
running them day-to-day. In effect, they are sharing powerful
computers with other users rather than buying, maintaining and
running their own.
Video Link – Cloud Computing
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In grid computing, large numbers of computers
work together to solve complex problems such
as analysing the forces that cause earthquakes.
They do this by allowing their computer’s
processor to contribute some of its processing
power through a connection to a network (the
internet).
Video Link – Grid Computing
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Many workers have fast internet connections which let
them work at home and communicate with their office
by telephone or teleconferencing when necessary.
Telecommuting reduces greenhouse gases by cutting
down the need for travelling to work, reducing the fuel
used and cutting the travel costs for the worker. It also
saves time spent travelling in to work, so working in this
way can increase a worker’s efficiency. There is
evidence that telecommuters are 40% more productive
than their office-based counterparts.
Companies do not have to buy as much computer
equipment as employees often have their own
computers and they cut down on their power use as they
have fewer workers in the workplace. However, the
employees themselves will use more power at home to
run the computers.
Video Link – Yahoo Ban on Telecommuting
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Downloading music is more environmentally
friendly than buying CDs. Buying a digital album
can reduce CO2 emissions by 40 to 80% because
CDs must be manufactured, packaged and
transported over long distances, whereas
downloads do not. Where the buyer downloads
the music and then burns it onto a CD and puts it
in a CD case — the saving is 40%. If the
downloaded music is not burned onto a CD, the
saving rises to 80%.
Buying digitally is becoming more and more
popular with people. Currently, 55% of all music
sales are digital.
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