Blame Me for IT Not Going Green
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Like a lot of things, businesses often ignore the long-term benefits of an investment because of the near-term costs. That seems to be the attitude taken by some in the technology industry when mulling investments in green IT. |
One attendee interviewed at this past week's Reuters Global Technology, Telecoms and Media Summit in Paris said business is taking the lead from consumers on whether or not to go green. "If the individual is not willing to pay a little more for the environment, don't expect the industry to do it," the CEO of Israeli chip maker Tower Semiconductor Russell Ellwanger told Reuters.
I plead guilty. We just purchased a car for our daughter, a third-year university student, as an early 21st birthday present. Though the 2007 sedan gets 24 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway, we could have spent about $10,000 more for a hybrid that gets 51 mpg in the city and 60 mpg on the highway. At today's gasoline prices, it would take nearly eight years to recoup that extra 10 grand. We just couldn't afford [or should I say weren't willing to pay] the extra dough.
Are my wife and I being short sighted? We expect our daughter to keep the car for about eight years [that's about how long we usually keep cars in our family]. Should we have considered the long-term savings and costs, which includes damage to the environment?
Do my actions [or inactions] influence CIOs and other business leaders in their decisions in not investing in green IT? Are we both wrong? Let me know.
