Oracle's latest Next Generation Data Centre Index compares today's situation ("C2") with that of a year ago ("C1") for Europe and the Middle East. Findings are positive but mixed from a Green ICT perspective.

This is solar-powered base station on top of a mountain in Lapland (Finland).

Remote ICT infrastructures are embracing renewable energy for everything from earthquake mitigation in Japan to CO2e reduction in India to military microgrids in Afghanistan. Africa is now participating, as well.

Innovative field trials in Afghanistan's war zones could be yielding technologies to provide more reliable and greener power for ICT infrastructures in remote areas and in emergency response situations.

Photo courtesy U.S. Marine Corps

Follow our e-devices' global journeys on Greenpeace's interactive map and MIT's tracking animation.

Updates from Africa and the Middle East. Click here forregional Green ICT updates from around the globe. Click on 'Africa-ME' tag above for all news about the region.

(Information about the US military's Afghanistan field trials of smart microgrids and solar energy have been expanded and moved to a new post.)

Nigerian e-waste challenges and solutions: 8 million mobile phones

GSMA's Global Mobile Awards' Green Mobile Awards are for "mobile industry organisations that are focused on the reduction of environmental impacts through eco-friendly, innovative policies, products, programmes or initiatives, as well as organisations outside of the industry that utilise the mobile platform to communicate, innovate or drive eco-friendly programmes, services and initiatives." Here's a look at the 2009-2011 winners and at the trend toward greener mobile base stations.

Iceland appeared on our Green ICT radar last year when Verne Global cited the "Icelandic Advantage" for its its data center there. Another local company, Greenqloud, is now promoting Iceland's advantages as the basis for a more sustainable cloud computing service.

While much of the green computer focus worldwide is on laptops, UK companies are doing interesting things with desktops.

Aleutia offers low-power units that "are designed to easily connect to solar power and work in remote places." Case studies include Africa and Central Asia.

VeryPC promotes its Broadleaf desktop as "categorised as ‘Class Leader’ by DEFRA Quick Wins", "BFR, PVC and halogen free in line with ECMA-370, the environmental standard", "the only desktop PC to be endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust Recommended scheme". (More about Green ICT product standards in Europe.)

The Green Electronics Council launched an international EPEAT purchasing registry which "enables the world’s leading electronics manufacturers to list ‘green’ computers and monitors in over 41 countries across the globe." The registry is revealing about the distribution of EPEAT product availability.