Definition of Green - InfoWorld

The Definition of Green is on my list of things to write about.  InfoWorld's Ted Samson writes his definition, and provides good points.

A couple of final thoughts on this subject: First, if a vendor comes to your door hawking what it deems a green product, be sure to ask just what makes it so green.

Second, bear in mind that a product deemed green today will be considered wasteful and eco-unfriendly tomorrow. Technological advancement coupled with relativity is funny that way.

Finally -- and this is a point I'll keep making until my fingers ooze (the blogging equivalent to the expression "talking until I'm blue in the face"): Green products alone simply can't make your company green. A blueprint for long-term sustainability is a must, and the products you employ are but a piece of the puzzle. Deploying virtualization in your datacenter may very well help you make better use of your resources in the short- or midterm. It may also reduce your company's carbon footprint. But you most certainly need to plan beyond that for the sake of your organization's future prosperity -- as well as for the sake of the environment, if that is, indeed, a concern for your company.

This definition fits well with another post.

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Path to Green: Prioritize and Focus

This weekend in reading some other blogs, I went to scobelizer.com.

In reading scoble's latest 2 entries, http://scobleizer.com/2007/12/15/my-feedback-for-microsofts-mapping-team/ and http://scobleizer.com/2007/12/15/surviving-the-2008-recession/ each had 18 - 19 things he was telling the audience to do.

Why am I writing about Robert's entry?  It reminds that Green is a broad topic and you can go on for hours talking about all the Green things you could do in a data center - eWaste, energy efficiency, cooling systems, UPS, building construction, blades, virtualization, storage systems, networks, power supplies, processors, design isues, power management, RAM, solid state drives, renewable energy, carbon credits. There are dozens of vendors ready to sell you green upgrades.

If you are going to successful in creating a Green Data Center you need to prioritize the changes and focus on develop a strategy of how you will measure the effectiveness of change.

Robert has some good suggestions for his audience, but how do you know which ones have the highest return?  Being Green requires an iterative approach and measurement system to determine how much greener you are after each change, and whether you may have take a step backward.  It is easy to throw out a bunch of ideas, it is hard to execute and prove the effectiveness.

Keep this in mind when implementing Green Data Center projects. It is easy to have the Robert Scobles of the world tell you all the different things you should do to make a Green Data Center. It's hard to prioritize and focus.

Another related topic is my post at /2007/12/its-not-easy-go.html

I am basing part of my opinion on the time I was at Microsoft watching Robert Scoble operate.

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