In one more signal that Green IT will get a boost from the Obama administration, the newly appointed federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra has shown that he's well aware of the importance of Green IT, and will likely have a focus on it during his tenure in the federal government.
Until his appointment, Chopra has been Virginia's Secretary of Technology. He's been widely recognized as an IT innovator in government, but not as well know is his recognition of the importance of Green IT.
Nearly a year ago, Chopra was
interviewed by Government Technology magazine in an article about how to cut data center energy consumption. He told the magazine:
"Data centers are the energy hogs of the 21st century, and if we all believe we need to have renewable energy and energy independence in this country, those of us in the IT community must step up and acknowledge that we are net consumers in a significant way."
Later on in the article, he noted:
"We need to encourage our vendor community to build green-friendly data centers and server farms, so we can be proper stewards of our resources."
That's no idle talk; Chopra has been involved in government-private industry partnerhips, so don't be surprised to see such federal partnerships revolve around Green IT.
As one more piece of evidence of his interest in Green IT, his agency in Virginia was part of an inter-agency task force looking for ways to reduce Virginia's greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.
The upshot? Expect to see Green IT initiatives out of his office in the next several years.
