Contemporary Business 14th Edition by Louis Boone, David Kurtz

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Can Cloud Computing Also Be "Green" Computing? The rise in cloud computing has some observers hoping it will decrease the emission of greenhouse gases. However, others are increasingly concerned that it will cause emissions to increase because it will require larger and larger data storage centers that use more energy.The environmental organization Greenpeace recently issued the "Cool IT Challenge" to the IT sector. Greenpeace urges these firms to reduce emissions by using renewable electricity to power their data centers and to pressure utility companies to improve access to renewable energy. In a recent report, Greenpeace declared that IT energy solutions can even encourage the growth of local, decentralized energy centers as opposed to large grids. These smaller, local networks could result in better energy choices for consumers as well as improved efficiency and more use of renewable energy.Greenpeace has also published a chart that rates major data centers' use of power sources. Google's data center in Oregon was the leading user of renewable energy, with almost 51 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources as opposed to coal and nuclear power.The Green Grid, a group of IT companies interested in improving energy efficiency, recently launched a downloadable tool that helps IT professionals lower overall energy use by using outside air and water to cool their data centers at little or no cost.Even Greenpeace has come under fire for relying on coal and nuclear energy at some of its data centers, due to long-term agreements with local utilities. Gary Cook, one of the Cool IT Campaign's policy advisors, declared, "We're definitely trying to run the greenest operation we can. . . . We're in the process of reworking some of our IT infrastructure, and we'll clean that up."
-Why do you think devices such as smart phones or the iPad, which rely on cloud computing, might contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions?