A decade ago, The New York Times released an expose-style article painting a brutal picture of the effects of mission critical infrastructure, namely data centers, on the environment. One sentence from this Sept. 22, 2012 article titled “Power, Pollution and the Internet” sums up the lengthy piece: “a yearlong examination by The New York Times has revealed that this foundation of the information industry is sharply at odds with its image of sleek efficiency and environmental friendliness.”

It goes on to say:
 •     Data centers waste 90% or more of the electricity they pull off the grid.
 •     Data centers rely on banks of generators that emit diesel exhaust.
 •     Large data centers contain banks of huge, spinning flywheels or thousands of lead-acid batteries.