Johnson Kim’s blog discusses the recent success of Dropbox, an internet program that “utilizes cloud technology to store data on servers [and synchronizes] data from one electronic device to another”. I would like to offer a different perspective on the subject of cloud computing.

Ever wonder what powers the internet? Facebook? iCloud?

Data centres. These facilities, the size of many football fields, consume vast amounts of electricity, operating 24/7/365. For example, Apple’s new $1B iData Centre in North Carolina consumes as much energy as 80,000-250,000 homes; it was largely constructed to support their “awesome” iCloud system. According to a Greenpeace report, in 2007 world cloud computing consumed more electricity than all of Canada. To make matters worse, most server farms source power from cheap, polluting coal.

I would bet that 99% percent of Facebook’s users aren’t aware that updating their status contributes to climate change. Indeed, the same report shows that Facebook and Apple are the two IT companies most reliant on coal energy (about 50%).

Although the emergence of cloud computing is seen as great and revolutionary by most, there is an unknown side that hides behind the bright facades of Apple, Dropbox and others. If left unchecked, these companies won’t change, either. Why pay more when you can pay less?