[Foundation-l] WMF-projects: Carbon neutral/low/aware website?

[Tim Starling]

Walter Vermeir wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I noticed a logo for "Carbon Neutral website" on a wiki;
> http://www.wikihow.com/wikiHow:Carbon-Neutral
> 
> The concept is to be aware of the carbon production related to the
> operation of a website/organization and to try to keep the production
> as low as possible by using energy efficient computers and
> environmental awareness by people working for the organisation.

According to

https://wikitech.leuksman.com/view/Tampa_Rackspace

which is somewhat out of date, we use about 45kW of electricity
continuously at our Florida colo. According to the 1999 figures here:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/co2_report/co2report.html

the South Atlantic region of the US generates CO2 at a rate of 1.342
lb/kWh, so that works out to about 20 tonnes of CO2 per month.

Some carbon offset prices:

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm

If we assume a mid-range carbon offset price of $10 per tonne, then that
would be $200 per month. This is for the Florida colo alone, and it
doesn't include sq31-50 or the new 2x4 core apaches.

I believe the power itself costs quite a bit more than that, which is why
we carefully consider the energy efficiency of bulk server purchases.

-- Tim Starling