HostGator Has Gone Green!

Just last week, HostGator announced that it had gone green, a move that is likely to be followed by other information technology companies in the near future. This is exciting news because the IT sector is responsible for significant energy use.

According to HostGator, for example, a typical web server has roughly the same climactic impact as does a 15mpg SUV. Clearly, the IT sector has great potential to reduce its ecological footprint.

As stated on their blog:

the IT sector has a huge climate impact. At present, between 3 and 4 percent of all electricity (and the associated carbon emissions) used in the world goes to running data centers.

So HostGator has decided to follow other large companies — such as Starbucks, UPS, and IBM — and do its part.

According to HostGator, they are using renewable energy both to power and cool their servers. They also claim that their servers are 130% wind powered. This means that they are not only neutralizing their environmental impact, but they are also reversing it. Unfortunately, this only applies to their servers. It would not be surprising however if we receive a second notice announcing that their entire company had gone green.

Are You Doing Your Part?

While your climatic impact is much smaller than HostGator’s, you can still minimize your carbon footprint by doing simple things such as turning off your computer at night, having a screensaver, unplugging appliances, and using more efficient lighting. You can find a list of other energy saving tips on the Carbon Tracker website.

Check out the HostGator blog for more information on their greening program, as well as the announcement page on their website.