Commentary: Computers and Energy Depletion

(LWN) – Although computers have a largely beneficial role in society, it cannot be denied that a massive amount of energy resources are being consumed to manufacture, transport, and power them. With world oil supplies beginning to decline, wastefulness such as this should be reconsidered.

One major way in which computers use energy is that they consume a significant amount of electricity. While it is necessary for some government and business computers to operate constantly, many personal computer users never turn their computers off. A poll last year on TechDirt.com found that 42% of the respondents leave their computers on through the night although they are not using them. This causes much more electricity to be consumed, depleting irreplaceable natural resources.

Another concern is the electricity, gas, and plastic (made from oil) which is being used to manufacture computers and transport them to stores or customers. Although this is necessary to some extent, it is much more extensive than it needs to be. If manufacturers would cease their efforts to quickly make computers “obsolete” and allow customers more choice based on what they actually need, much energy could be saved. While “faster” computers are always being produced, slower software is being sold with them. As more and more speed and memory become available, many software developers ignore efficiency and each version of Microsoft Windows runs more slowly than the last. This causes people to keep buying more computers and more parts to upgrade them, although this wouldn’t be necessary if the programmers paid more attention to efficiency.

At the same time, new computers are sold in a small number of variations which are basically a “one size fits all” approach. While someone who merely needs a computer for word processing, e-mail, spreadsheets or other low-demand activities would be happy with a small 33MHz desktop computer using Windows 3.1 and connected to a television, the only choices are large, heavy computers with a speed of over 2000MHz (2GHz) which have to use large, noisy fans to prevent overheating. At the same time, older computers which would meet their needs can be difficult to find software, parts, and accessories for, and some had batteries permanently installed in them which have long since corroded. In the past, many computers were easily designed to connect to a standard television and use its speaker for sound, yet now everyone is expected to buy a monitor and separate speakers.

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