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Sonic the Hedgehog, climate killer? |
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Mole |
Mar 7 2008, 06:33 PM
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PW Consultant
Group: PW Developer
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Joined: 11-January 05
From: Beaverton, Oregon
Member No.: 97
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Sonic the Hedgehog, climate killer? by Simon Sturdee
HANOVER, Germany (AFP) - "I don't care, we're all going to die anyway," says 17-year-old Christian, to laughs from his friends as they play video games at the CeBIT IT fair in Germany.
What he does not care about is the environmental impact of the games console he and his mates are playing in a giant exhibition hall crammed full of other teenagers playing the latest shoot-em-ups, driving games and the like.
Whereas many of the 5,500 exhibitors at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany like IBM and Deutsche Telekom have been at pains to trumpet their green credentials, in Hall 22 there is not a tree-hugger in sight.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer travelled to the fair to tell people what the world's largest software company was doing its bit for the environment -- but the company's Xbox games console was not mentioned once in this context.
Indeed a Microsoft Xbox spokesman in Hanover conceded he had never been asked about the environmental impact of the 18 million Xbox 360s sold so far, preferring instead to forward AFP's questions to headquarters.
Worldwide computer use requires 14 power stations for the necessary electricity, producing more harmful carbon dioxide emissions than the entire airline industry -- not including the emissions created and manufacturing and shipping around the products in the first place.
And games consoles -- of which 62 million were sold in last year -- are the gas guzzlers of this industry, using huge amounts of energy to generate the necessary mindblowing graphics and sounds.
When played online, they are linked up to huge server farms which use even more energy.
And with each generation of console -- we are currently on the seventh -- repeatedly made obsolete by the newest technology, millions of machines, games and other accessories are thrown away, destined often for the developing world.
This has not escaped the notice of Greenpeace, which was taking part in CeBIT for the first time, vowing to sort the "greenwash" from the genuine amid all the talk of green IT.
The environmental pressure group issued results of a survey comparing the green credentials of 37 products from 14 major brands, showing modest improvements regarding hazardous substances, energy efficiency and recyclability.
But Nintendo provided no data for the investigation on its Wii console, Micosoft said they had no information, and Sony's details on the PlayStation were "very late and very insufficient," Greenpeace campaigner Zeina Al-Hajj said.
Greenpeace suspects this speaks volumes.
"The industry has not looked at all at the environmental impact of the games console. The amount of energy they consume, especially the XBox and the PlayStation, is massive. There is no evidence that they are acting," Al-Hajj said.
Greenpeace concedes that some improvements have been made, particularly by Nintendo with its Wii in terms of energy consumption and recyclability, but it says much more needs to be done.
"If you can do it in a Wii, why not with a Sony?" Al-Hajj says.
And a spokesman for IBM, which supplies powerful microchips for the Xbox, the Wii and the PlayStation, while keen to talk about the firm's efforts to be greener in its other businesses, does not want to talk about games consoles.
"You would have to ask them," meaning the games consoles makers, IBM spokesman Joerg Winkelmann says. He adds however that processess for making the chips have improved.
Microsoft headquarters did not reply. Nor did AMD, whose processors are also found in many consoles.
Gamers in CeBIT Hall 22 meanwhile carried on playing.
"This doesn't stop me gaming at all. The fun factor is very high and you think first about the fun factor of the games," says Sebastian, a 22-year-old soldier and gaming fanatic.
"Most people who play games don't really think at all of the environment, they think about the fun factor," he says.
Seventeen-year-old Geld from the Netherlands shrugs as the sound of music in the windowless hall pumps louder and louder.
"A washing machine uses more energy than a computer," he says, turning to get on with his game, fingers working madly on the buttons.
CeBIT runs to Sunday.
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Co-Founder & Consultant Project Wish
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RicoSuave |
Mar 14 2008, 09:28 AM
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Master
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QUOTE(effigydrums @ Mar 11 2008, 03:30 PM) ... We've had one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record. This last winter it snowed in Baghdad. The winter before that, San Antonio had an ice storm so bad it shut the city down for three days (Yes, there are some situations when mail does not arrive). Minnesota just recorded (1½ months ago) its coldest day EVER (-68 degrees, or some such). As was stated earlier, three questions need to be asked: 1) Is Global-warming really occuring (not localized-warming, which of course exists)? 2) What effect does man play in all of it (do we even affect it)? 3) Do we have the ability to do anything worthwhile about it? Apparently, the Weather Channel is thinking about suing Algore over all this to "settle" the debate: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337710,00.htmlI wish them luck. -Rick
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Mole |
Mar 18 2008, 02:36 PM
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PW Consultant
Group: PW Developer
Posts: 791
Joined: 11-January 05
From: Beaverton, Oregon
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QUOTE(Honis @ Mar 18 2008, 07:34 AM) Aren't the server farms (game servers) the ones that EVERYBODY worries about when it comes to energy consumption? I'd think most companies running those servers take energy costs VERY seriously (since its proportional to $). can anybody do me a favor and check the outlet specs of the consoles they own? Amps watts etc. peak values are fine too.
True, most companies are definitely not doing their part to help the environment when they start up large server farms. However, there are a lot of good initiatives out there that are trying to make a difference and, once they get adopted more by then general consumer, will really start paying dividends. Google, and a large number of other companies are all working to design a new power supply for computers that is more than 95% efficient. The power supply you have in your computer today is less than 50% efficient. It looses a lot of energy as heat, does not convert power efficiently, and is expensive to build. The new power supply designed by Google engineers is highly efficient, looses little heat, and is actually cheaper to build since it uses less components. This new power supply is very important to Google, since they use standard desktop-style PCs in their farms. Intel and AMD are both starting to develop energy efficient chips, which will help to build computers that use less power and achieve the same speeds. Solid state drives will consume less power, and will eventually replace today's hard drives. The largest solid state drives are only up to 160G, and their performance is very sluggish (compared to hard drives) but the technology is getting better. My guess is that by 2010 we will have solid state drives that are at least comparable to today's hard drive technology. The help to the environment does not stop there either. Many companies that manufacture computer hardware are recycling various "wastes" that happen in the fabrication process. Water is collected and recycled, various chemicals are recycled, etc. This all lessens the impact on the environment. There are even some companies that are recycling old computer hardware, which gets them out of landfills. These are just the things that are on the top of my head. I know there are others. While the "computer industry" in general is still a strain on the environment, steps are being made to make things better. Somewhere there is a list of the "greenest" companies. I wonder who is all on that list.... -Mole
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Co-Founder & Consultant Project Wish
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