[LINK] Clouds of Coal

[Stephen Wilson]

Further, I'd like to point out once again that computers don't release 
CO2: coal and gas fired power stations do.  So while the "cloud would 
have ranked fifth in the world for energy use" it is not technically 
true that it is "creating an all too real cloud of pollution". 

Energy efficiency is important but not as important as clean power 
stations.

Steve Wilson.


Kim Holburn wrote:
> You'd think that there would be offsets: like the tonnage of emails  
> not sent as real letters, books or news read online instead of made  
> out of trees and transported around the place, people skyping instead  
> of going there, invoices sent electronically etc.
>
> Surely that would have some positive effect?
>
> On 2010/Mar/31, at 1:26 PM, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
>
>> "If considered as a country, global telecommunications and data  
>> centers
>> behind the cloud would have ranked fifth in the world for energy use  
>> in
>> 2007, behind the United States, China, Russia and Japan .."
>>
>>
>> Coal fuels much of internet 'cloud', says Greenpeace
>>
>> March 31, 2010 <http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news>
>>
>>
>> The 'cloud' of data which is becoming the heart of the internet is
>> creating an all too real cloud of pollution as Facebook, Apple and  
>> others
>> build data centers powered by coal, according to a new Greenpeace  
>> report.
>