Finding the right incentives by Carol Wilson

Views and Opinions on Green IT (Jul 7 2009) Cap and Trade , Emissions , Fossil Fuel

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   If you want to guarantee a flood of angry email responses, write something that appears to endorse the energy bill just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. I did, and the stream of vitriol that followed was stunning. “Idiot” was the kindest remark and “You are absolutely batty” the most succinct.

   When I could get past the nasty comments, the thinking fell along a few lines: First, that global warming is a myth perpetrated by Al Gore and others; second, implementing cap and trade measures for U.S. businesses will jettison our economy and cost jobs; and three, if India and China aren’t going to do this, why should the U.S.?

   I see no point in debating the first line of thought. Those who insist that we aren’t polluting the Earth to our future detriment by the use of fossile fuels are not going to be convinced by anything I say. As to the third point, having visited both India and China and personally partaken of their air quality, I can only say, no thanks. I don’t want them as our environmental role models.

   The second point is obviously one on which active debate is likely to rage, since it hinges on what constructive role the government should play in encouraging businesses to adopt more environmentally friendly ways of doing business and whether this current energy bill goes way too far. That’s a debate that needs to happen.

   Where data centers are concerned, however, there is literally no reason for argument or nasty name calling. The financial incentives alone make it obvious that data centers need to be built with access to low-cost renewable forms of energy. We know that, given the critical role that data centers play in enabling the kind of connected digital world in which we all expect to live, demand for data center capacity will only grow. Greater capacity means more servers and networking gear sucking up more power, giving off more heat and requiring more cooling.

   So no one should need the U.S. federal government to tell them that plunking your data center in an area with high-cost power on an electrical grid limited in capacity makes no financial sense. And that’s a reality even those that don’t believe in global warming can accept. 

   
   

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