Green Computing and the Environment 55
are intermittent. The sun doesn’t shine all the time, and neither does the wind
always blow when it’s needed.
However, data centers can be sited in various locations, with various forms
of power. Most of the time, most of the renewable energy will be available to
power them; when it’s not, fossil fuel–fired plants can be used instead. One
hundred percent uptime might be achieved by using fossil fuels 10% of the
time, which means a 90% savings on fossil fuel usage.
Other aspects of IT are greenable as well. IT devices can be made with fewer
rare minerals, by better-paid workers, and with a strict prohibition on the use of
child labor in any part of the supply chain. And disposal can be handled better
a