Love the Tech, but the Cloud Needs Some Cleaning

A report released today by Greenpeace International finds that major tech companies Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are burning vast amounts of polluting coal to power their data "clouds."

So what is the cloud? It is actually big giant buildings with a huge number of machines that store all of our data -- our music, email, family photos, videos etc.

These data centers require a huge amount of electricity; in fact if data clouds were a country, they would be the 5th largest electricity consumer in the world. While the tech they are running is cutting edge, they rely on coal power, which is the top source of global warming pollution in the US, and nasty things like mercury.

Whether it is Angry Birds, iTunes or even buying door hinges on Amazon, the internet and the virtual "cloud" that runs much of it has rewired the way many of us live. Heck, as someone who spends his days online as a professional, I am immersed in the cloud. But there is an irony here in that these technologies that are evolving and advancing the human race are also using an outdated energy source dating back to Charles Dickens' 19th century London.

With the money and intelligence behind these companies, I see them as potential leaders in renewable energy, powering their centers with big, beautiful wind turbines and vast fields of solar panels. Clean and unlimited power running the world's coolest and smartest companies.

Check out these tongue-in-cheek videos we've produced for the campaign and tell Apple, Microsoft and Amazon to clean our cloud:

 

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Comments

[ThinkCreeps]

06:05 AM on 04/19/2012

You need to take into the account the need for security of power too. Since data centers need big backup capabilities anyway, they are actually more likely to try to be exporters of relatively clean energy from their newly-built sources of electricity and heat.

[ThinkCreeps]

06:03 AM on 04/19/2012

There is a hidden energy cost of an online economy. However, fewer people now drive to browse at the store. The energy consumed by data centers comes out of the same mix as everything else we do.

In fact, they can be located close to generating capacity, and so lower transmission loses. They are also amenable to the use of their cooling power, and the use of this low-grade energy for local heating. The data center operators are on the hook for the power costs, and are very keen to reduce this burden. A server costs maybe a few $1000 and uses a couple of dollars of power a day. The amount of energy expended in building the data center is thus likely to be more significant in the overall scheme than the energy expended in running it.

So, you simply need to continue to advocate for reducing consumption as you can, and generating electricity using the lowest-impact sources.

[bmxtiger]

05:23 PM on 04/18/2012

Are you kidding me Edward Rodman? If the pollutants weighed more, they would contaminate the earth and our water. "The air is always better after it rains" again, water and pollutants equals run off and contaminated ground and water issues. You can't solve the problems and complexities of an aging multi-trilion dollar coal industry with the thought processes of a child. If you burn coal, you will have by products that are less than desirable, regardless of what state of matter they are in. Maybe we can power a wind turbine with a giant fan and it can just power itself!

[Edward Rodman]

02:24 PM on 04/17/2012

its not good to put stuff in our air.......now when you see smoke come out of a plant, manufactor place, i think you may get that stuff out of the air by makeing weight more..... the air is all ways better after it rains in l a...... so why don t we try putting sprinkers on top of stacks to see if that helps.....