greenpeace

Facebook reported that its greenhouse gas emissions from data centers, office space, employee commuting and air travel, data center construction and sever transportation totaled about 285,000 metric tonnes in 2011. It takes the same amount of energy to serve each active Facebook user as it would to produce one medium latte, three large bananas or a couple glasses of wine, according to the post.

Facebook's energy sources were 23 percent clean and renewable, 27 percent coal, 17 percent … Read more

Call it a "Gentleman's C."

In a new report, Greenpeace says that while Apple is doing a better job ensuring the energy efficiency of its data centers, the company still lags behind some competitors in key areas.

Greenpeace says that additional information Apple provided about its facilities in recent months has resulted in improved scores. That includes infrastructure siting, where Apple now has a "D" grade, up from an "F." Apple also improved from "D" to "C" ratings in energy efficiency and greenhouse gas mitigation, as well as renewable … Read more

Apple today said it plans to make its Maiden, N.C., data center run entirely off renewable energy by the end of the year.

The company said it's building two solar array installations in the area, which when combined will bring in 84 million kilowatt-hours of power annually. Apple is also at work on its bio-gas fuel cell installation, set to be completed later this year.

All told, Apple says it will produce 60 percent of the power it requires to run the data center on site, procuring the other 40 percent from "local and regional sources" … Read more

Environmental activists at Greenpeace took their campaign to pressure cloud computing providers on energy to Apple's headquarters today.

Protesters set up a portable building -- i.e. a "pod" -- and protesters dressed as iPhones stood outside Apple's buildings in Cupertino, Calif.

Greenpeace also projected messages onto the glass entryway into one building asking Apple to "just stop using coal" and "be part of the next century, not last."

It's the latest event designed to bring attention to Greenpeace and its Clean Our Cloud campaign which is pressuring large data center … Read more

Greenpeace has uncovered documents that the group claims indicate Apple has plans to draw more power at its North Carolina data center than it has stated.

The environmental watchdog group yesterday published a permit application and permit for back up diesel-powered generators at Apple's Maiden, N.C., data center that's now under construction.

The documents indicate that Apple requested and was approved to use significantly more than the 20 megawatts of power Apple projects its data center to use at full capacity. The company received environmental permits to install 54 megawatts of diesel back up power, but because … Read more

Commentary In its trademark smashmouth style, Greenpeace this week took cloud computing companies to task for using dirty energy -- and then came under fire itself over its methods and assertions.

Whatever Greenpeace's shortcomings, though, its activists have a point.

In the latest event of its "Clean our Cloud" campaign, Greenpeace activists yesterday rappelled off a building near Amazon and Microsoft offices and attached a banner which reads "Amazon, Microsoft: How Clean is Your Cloud?"

Earlier, it released three videos that poke fun at Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft by showing workers shoveling coal into a … Read more

A day after being criticized by Greenpeace for its energy practices, Apple said Greenpeace's estimates for power use at the company's latest data center are much too high.

Apple said that its data center now under construction in North Carolina will use about 20 megawatts at full capacity. Greenpeace put the estimate at 100 megawatts.

Greenpeace gave Apple, Amazon, and other companies low marks for locating their data centers in areas that rely heavily on coal and "dangerous nuclear." Those companies also scored lower than competitors, including Google and Yahoo, because they disclose less information on … Read more

Greenpeace is pushing harder for cloud-computing companies to cut back on coal and tap into cleaner sources of electricity.

The environmental watchdog group today released its latest rankings of companies, including Google, Apple, and Amazon, that run giant data centers to serve up Web pages and services. Greenpeace now has a "clean energy index" to measure how much electricity from renewable sources is used by these companies.

Greenpeace has been pressuring cloud companies for years to improve the efficiency of their data centers, advocate for clean-energy policies, and disclose energy usage.

This year, Yahoo, despite its dire financial … Read more

Google received top accolades from Greenpeace for its work advancing cleaner energy, while Apple and Facebook didn't make the environmental watchdog group's IT industry list of leaders.

Greenpeace released the latest of its periodic Cool IT Leaderboard today and singled out the work of Google on renewable energy technology and policy.

Energy consumption from computing, including large data centers, continues to grow rapidly, one reason why Greenpeace has targeted cloud computing companies. "The IT sector might like to consider itself forward-thinking, but it is keeping far too quiet while the dirty energy industry continues to exert undue … Read more