The operating system wars have been conducted for as long as there have been ope

rating systems, and in recent years the arguments among fans of Windows, Mac OS
X, and Linux have become particularly vehement. But in all the arguments, rarely
has there been a discussion of which operating system is the greenest or can be
st help IT green the data center. Until now, that is.
One columnist, Jack Wallen, on ZDNet, argues that Linux is the greenest operatin
g system of all. Among other reasons, he cites its ability to run on not particu
larly powerful hardware, which means older equipment can be reused, cutting down
landfill problems. He also says it's less electricity-hungry than Windows. Agre
e with him or not, there's food for thought. For details, see my blog, "Is Linux
the Greenest Operating System?"
Also in my blog this week, I report the good news about President Obama's newly
appointed Chief Technology Officer. Aneesh Chopra, until now Virginia's Secretar
y of Technology, has long been recognized as a technology innovator when it come
s to government's use of IT. But less well known is that he's also a proponent o
f Green IT. To read more, check out my blog, "Obama's New CTO: Big on Green IT."

WASHINGTON, D.C. As of January 2009, EPEAT-certified products were required purc

hases for all agencies of the federal government, after implementation of an Exe
cutive Order requiring agencies to purchase those products where certifications
exist.
Moreover, 13 of the 22 agencies have already reported making the switch, and hav
e already hit the required level of 95 percent purchasing of EPEAT computers, mo
nitors, laptops and other electronics, which in order to receive certification m
ust pass stringent measures for energy-efficiency, reduction of toxic materials,
recyclability, packaging efficiency, and other environmental criteria.
"This is particularly notable because the EPEAT requirements are new and being i
mplemented along with security and other IT requirements, said Dana Arnold, Actin
g Federal Environmental Executive, This striking level of compliance reflects gre
at work on the part of Agency IT purchasing staff, as well as the ease of use of
the EPEAT system.
Among the notable achievements: The Department of Veterans Affairs leased over 2
90,000 Dell desktops and monitors between September 2007 and December 2008 -- 10
0 percent of which were EPEAT-certified.
Related News & Blogs
Can Facebook's Data Center be Green if it Runs on Coal?
Hitachi Consulting, Autodesk Zap Carbon with SAP ClimateBiz.com
How to Keep the Server Room Cool
What Is -- and What Isn't -- Responsible Electronics Recycling
Asian Data Centers to Continue Energy-Guzzling Ways?
The Social Security Administration purchased 100 percent EPEAT products in 2008
-- nearly 25,000 EPEAT-Gold certified desktops and 26,000 EPEAT-Silver or -Gold
certified monitors. The Department of Labor also achieve 100 percent compliance
with the new rule in 2008; in total the 13 agencies purchased more than 500,000
EPEAT products.
The other agencies that have achieved 95 percent or greater EPEAT purchasing are
 the Treasury Department, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interi
or, the State Deparment, the Department of Commerce, NASA, the Office of Personn
el Management, the Tennesee Valley Authority, the EPA, and the General Services
Administration.
The EPEAT standard, which launched in 2006, has been growing rapidly: in additio
n to the Federal purchasing requirement, the 1,000th product was EPEAT-certified
in December 2008, and earlier that year the city of San Francisco also mandated
purchasing of EPEAT products.
More about EPEAT, which is managed by the Green Electronics Council, is online a
t http://epeat.net.

Angela Smith, speaking at the Greening Government ICT conference in London yeste
rday, said that some of the simple projects included setting printer defaults to
double-sided printing, turning off PCs at night and extending the usable life o
f computers.
All of these projects are among the first and easiest steps a company can take t
o embark on a larger green IT project; these type of efforts are applicable acro
ss an organization, are cheap or free and at the same time offer quick reduction
s in costs and environmental impacts.