Analysts Say Green IT Is Insignificant. Is it...?

April 8 saw Gartner analysts Simon Mingay and Martin Reynolds claiming at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo that green IT is indeed important. French Caldwell and Charles Smulders argued that green-IT is a myth, as IT accounts for a mere two percent of global emissions.

"There is good research out there that has shown that as economies invest in information and communication technology, they decrease the material intensity, greenhouse gas intensity, energy intensity and transportation of the economies," said Mingay. The man added that, while the scientific analysis could be wrong, we can't afford to take that chance.

When it was Charles Smulders' turn to speak his mind, the man said green IT is a fiction, eWeek posts, noting that IT accounts for a mere two percent of global emissions. Considering that the respective two percent isn't all green, you can imagine how much Apple's efforts account for...

Smulders even claimed that "cattle exude more CO2 in the United States than all of the motor vehicles on the road, and that the expected population explosion from 6 billion to 9 billion in 50 years is more significant than IT emissions," the same source posts. Casting even more doubt on whether green IT matters, Smulders added that carbon emissions cannot be "reliably gauged, throwing green IT equations out of whack," the publication notes.

OK, so we've heard both sides of the story. Is everyone missing the whole point here? Take Apple for instance. While the Cupertino folks do their bit, as far as greenness goes, I'm pretty sure that the company doesn't just want people thinking of its products. There are lessons to be learned with each green purchase.

Apple's website has a dedicated page called Apple and the Environment. While the computer manufacturer does brag about its Product design, Responsible Manufacturing and Energy efficiency (how else are they going to sell them?), it also mentions environmental-friendly substances and materials used to build its machines, their screens, and the batteries that power them up (not to mention Recycling). With that information in mind, the next time you see something else that "eliminates the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs)" for example, you'll know you're buying green.

And since the Internet is the fastest way to spread the word... well, I guess there are more ways to look at the green IT's impact on the environment. Be sure to express a few thoughts in the comments column below.