Facebook Fueled by Dirty Coal

by Tara Lohan · 2010-02-11 13:57:00 UTC
Topics:

coalWith so much of the information we use today stored in "the cloud" it can be easy to forget that out there, somewhere, there's energy being used to power thousands of servers in massive data centers.

Facebook just announced that it's going to build its first data center in Oregon. And while Google and Microsoft precede them in the state, they take advantage of cheaper and cleaner hydro power, while it looks like Facebook will be using mostly coal power.

Yes, every time you update your Facebook status a baby polar bear dies.

OK, maybe it's not quite that extreme, but Facebook's decision to go with coal power is drawing some fire. Why aren't they using hydro? Not that hydro is without environmental consequences, but when it comes to carbon emissions and public health, nothing's worse than coal.

Apparently it is an issue of cost. Starting in 2012, the days of super cheap hydro from Bonneville Power Administration, which Google and Microsoft cashed in on, will draw to a close. And faced with a tiered rate structure from Bonneville, Facebook decided to put down roots in the high desert area of Pineville and get its juice from Pacific Power in a mostly coal package.

Of course there were some nice tax breaks thrown into the equation, too, and it looks like the community can use all the jobs they can get. The area has 17 percent unemployment and the schools are considering a 4-day week to cut costs.

But we know it's possible to have clean energy and jobs. Why can't companies like Facebook, Google and Microsoft flex their cyber muscle to influence clean energy policy and the building of more capacity for renewable energy sources that are better than hydro and worlds above coal?

Photo credit: joshua l

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Whales: Recovering, But Not Recovered
NEXT STORY:
Stopping the Water Grab in Nevada

COMMENTS (72)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.