There are many direct benefits one can gain from Open Source Software including low or zero cost of acquisition, enhanced security, improved performance and world-class quality and support. Open Source Software and the Linux operating system in particular can also help the environment.
The environmental benefits to using Linux stem from two primary directions. First, it uses less power than other operating systems such as Windows, and second, it extends the lives of older computers and keeps them out of the landfill for much longer than would otherwise be the case.
Reducing Power Consumption
Linux reduces power consumption both directly and indirectly. By consuming less power in the first place, Linux reduces power consumption at the outlet. And this also means that a computer running Linux places a smaller load on computer room and office cooling systems so that the air-conditioning systems also consume less power.
Right out of the starting gate Linux consumes less power than other operating systems. The article Linux beats Windows 2008 power-saving measures shows that, in tests performed by InfoWorld, Linux uses about 12% less power than Windows 2008.
The LessWatts.org web site tests and tracking the power consumption of the Linux kernel and provides tools and shows through test results which are published on the site that the Linux kernel is on track to consume even less power in the future than it has in the past. With a skilled professional, the tools and recommendations presented on this web site can be used to tune each system individually to optimum performance and efficiency.
Of course as with any set of comparison tests, your mileage may vary (YMMV). Your environment will never be like a test environment and you may not be able to implement all possible power saving measures discussed in this article or the links. But it is important to know and understand that Linux uses less power than Windows in any given set of equal circumstances.
Reducing E-Waste
Linux reduces e-waste by extending the life of old computers. Many computers with perfectly good hardware are thrown in the trash or sent to e-recycling centers every year even though they are in perfect working order. This can be because they have become unbearably slow because they are irrevocably infested with malware which consumes most of their resources. See the post Is Your Computer Slow? for more information on this.
When older computers no longer have the hardware resources necessary to run the current versions of Windows for which relatively decent anti-malware software is available, don’t throw them out. Upgrading them to Linux can extend their useful lives for years and keep them out of landfills as well as away from third-world recycling dumps where environmentally unsound practices endanger both the environment and the workers health.
This also has the added advantage of saving you the cost of a new computer with yet another costly copy of Windows and all the ancillary yet expensive software and subscriptions to keep it safe.
Ready to Go Green?
Not only is Linux and all of the Office software free, but it is much more safe and secure from malware than Windows. And because no matter how safe and secure it is, no operating system is completely free from the threat of malware, there is anti-malware software available for Linux — Open Source and free of charge as well.
If you would like more information about how to help save the environment with Linux, contact us at Millennium Technology Consulting LLC.
Articles, Green Computing, Linux | dboth | 
May 27, 2009 2:46 pm | 
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