anyone who harbored any thoughts about being environmentally friendly by taking part in the ‘new’ economy and not partaking in the sins of our forefathers by pushing bits instead of actual physical materials can now jump off your high and mighty horse:
“As California’s tech-savvy businesses and households plug into an increasingly wired economy, the
state’s power system is sputtering like a frayed electrical cord.”“Computers consume about 13% of the nation’s power, according to EPRI Corp., a Palo Alto research and development group that studies the utility industry.
The Internet’s borderless community also is taxing U.S. power suppliers because about 80% of online traffic comes through this country.
To handle all the Internet action, businesses are turning entire offices into warehouses for the powerful computer servers and peripheral equipment needed to navigate networks. These so-called ”server farms” consume 10 to 12 times more power than the traditional office building filled with human workers. ”