MIT Green Computing
   An Examination of the Environmental Effects of Computers at MIT


Analysis of Survey Results

Energy Use
Students seem to place energy use low on their concens especially since they are not charged directly for utilities. Educating students on the environmental impacts of excessive energy use may be helpful in changing their use patterns. Potentially monitoring or charging students for their energy consumption could create a more energy mindful community.

Alternatives
A system of giving students PDAs may be effective not only for improving the in class experience but also to decrease the need for each student to own a computer. For such a system to work, there must be compelling productivity applications with seamless integration to Athena Computing Resources. The PDAs would be more compelling if each was equipped with a large disk storage card and a wireless card (MIT IS has already deployed Wireless Access Points/Gateways around the campus).

The cost of a color Compaq Ipaq is around $500.00 not including the extra storage card (CF card) or wireless card. Depending on the card types, the prices can range from one hundred to several hundred dollars. While this high cost may be prohibitive, recently, the number of PDA manufacturers has skyrocketed and analysts expect prices to fall. Additionally, according to the I.S. Computing Survey, nearly 30% of students already own a PDA (See Next Section).

Further, Palm OS based PDAs are significantly cheaper and retail as low as $100.

End of Computer Life Cycle

In addition to the high percentage of students who planned on throwing their computer away, a number of students said that they would store their computer. In fact, storing computers presents a potentially significant waste liability for the future years as most of these computers will ultimately need to be thrown away. With only a small percent of students stating that they would recycle their computer, it seems imperative to educate students on the environmental impacts associated with throwing computers away. More importantly, it must become easier for students to recycle their computers.

Next Section: Information Systems Survey