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For more information on the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, go to www.climatesaverscomputing.org |
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| To register for the Climate Savers Campus Kick-Off Event, go to www.climatesavers.umich.edu/campuskickoff | |
| To receive updates on U-M’s progress, join the Climate Savers e-mail group by searching “climate savers” at www.directory.umich.edu | |
During U-M’s Earth Week, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) will host a campus kick-off event for faculty, staff and students who want to learn how they can contribute to the environmental project.
The activities begin with the Climate Savers Campus Kick-Off event at 10 a.m. March 25 at Palmer Commons. Registration is required for the event, which will bring together a coalition of campus leaders and stakeholders to kick-off the start of the project and unite efforts.
Google and Intel established CSCI in part with a World Wild Life Foundation program to encourage companies to cut carbon dioxide emissions. U-M, one of the founding Higher Education members, plans to go beyond expectations and make a long-term impact on the preservation of natural resources by growing greener computing practices beyond its campuses.
“It is the University’s responsibility to set the standards on green computing and be a leader in this new environmental frontier,” says John King, project co-sponsor and vice provost for academic information.
All CSCI members have pledged to implement power-saving computing practices and purchase more energy-efficient equipment. Major areas of focus include energy optimization features and machine room operations. Tracking a product’s life cycle from purchasing to recycling will facilitate concise efficiencies and encourage more focused green computing efforts.
“Energy saved by computers and data centers will tremendously reduce the University’s carbon footprint, as well as electricity expenses,” says Peggy Norgren, project co-sponsor and associate vice president for finance. “With the Climate Savers Computing Initiative comes a continuing effort to change behavior and aim toward making a bigger environmental impact.”
The CSCI at U-M has a strong foundation built on cross-campus collaboration. Plans are in the works to continue building close-working relationships with existing U-M environmental organizations and activities.
Working relationships have been established with several units on campus, including the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, Planet Blue and its Wolverine Teams, Occupational Safety and Environmental Health and the Michigan Student Assembly Environmental Issues Commission.
This project will build on the University’s reputation as a leader in environmental sciences, recycling and environmentally friendly operations. Project Director Bill Wrobleski, director of Technical Infrastructure Operations in MAIS, plans to go beyond the standard awareness and education campaign by engaging members of the campus community and encouraging their contribution to planned green computing activities.
“Participation is key to the success of this project. We hope to engage faculty, students and staff from across the University,” Wrobleski says. “We will rely on teams of volunteers to contribute their time and expertise to projects, while helping to implement change within their units.”
Teams’ responsibilities will range from setting workstation and data center standards to supporting scholarship and research in green computing and IT energy reduction.
Some of the potential CSCI activities are to provide small funding grants to support units pursuing innovative green ideas and to pursue green IT scholarship opportunities.
Minimizing power consumption of computers at the University benefits the larger community by reducing the strain on local and regional energy facilities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
