Apple "Burned" by Greenpeace Report

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-burned-in-greenpeace-rankings-thanks-to-new-data-center/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheAppleBlog+(GigaOM:+Apple)' target='_blank'>http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-burne...(GigaOM:+Apple)</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Apple came in at the bottom of a new report from Greenpeace (which is being presented at Green:Net today) detailing the energy choices made by major IT companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook and more."</em></p><p><img height="592" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1303416330.usr105634.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" width="460" /></p><p>The report is <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/New-Greenpeace-report-digs-up-the-dirt-on-Internet-data-centres/" target="_blank">available here</a>&nbsp;and is called "How Dirty is Your Data?" In it, Greenpeace slams Apple mainly because the location of their new data center is in North Carolina, the heart of coal country, thus making it more reliant on fossil fuels than if they had built it in another more eco-friendly location. Greenpeace was quick to add that we shouldn't make too much of this report yet since Apple hasn't even started using this new center so the figures used are estimates. Seems rather silly to even put out the report if you can't base it on facts. Yes, I realize due to the location that the odds are certainly that fossil fuel will provide the power but we don't even know what kinds of ways Apple is going to mitigate this so why not wait until we get the facts. Inconvenient I suppose.&nbsp;</p>

[Brad Adrian]

When it comes to the coal issue, wouldn't it be more appropriate to look down upon companies in states like Virginia and (especially) West Virginia, since they FAR outstrip (no pun intended) North Carolina when it comes to coal mining and consumption? I guess there probably aren't very many (any) major IT manufacturing facilities in those two states, though.

I've lived in North Carolina for more than 14 years now, and although I love the area (Can you say, "Sixty degrees in December?"), I personally think there are plenty of other more appropriate issues besides coal consumption for which we should be wagging our fingers at North Carolina. The area STINKS...... because its leading position in pork production keeps all kinds of wonderful aromas wafting through the air. I get even more choked up when I think about the nation's two largest cigarette manufacturers being located in North Carolina.