In a new report “Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change,” the environment group, Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org), has criticized the iPad, cloud computing and “IT’s growing carbon problem.”
“Here’s part of what they have to say: “Whether you actually want an iPad or not, there is no doubt that it is a harbinger of things to come. The iPad relies upon cloud-based computing to stream video, download music and books, and fetch email. Already, millions access the ‘cloud’ to make use of online social networks, watch streaming video, check email and create documents, and store thousands of digital photos online on popular web-hosted sites like Flickr and Picasa.
“The cloud is growing at a time when climate change and reducing emissions from energy use is of paramount concern. With the growth of the cloud, however, comes an increasing demand for energy. For all of this content to be delivered to us in real time, virtual mountains of video, pictures and other data must be stored somewhere and be available for almost instantaneous access. That ‘somewhere’ is data centers – massive storage facilities that consume incredible amounts of energy.”
