CO2 Now

By Michael McGee

In this photo, you are looking at the solar panels that power the CO2Now.org website.  The panels take the sun's energy and create the electricity that powers the web servers inside the AISO data center that is visible behind the panels.   Energy is also stored in batteries so the electrical power is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

As far as I can tell, there is no other web hosting data center in the world that gets its energy direct from solar energy.  The solar panels and AISO data center are located in Southern California, USA, about 10 minutes from Sun City.  The photo was taken during my visit of the facility in July 2009.  My hometown is on Vancouver Island (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) and that is where most of the CO2Now.org content updates are made.  To run a website that gets its energy from the sun, there is no need to be in Southern California.  Even with occasional access to the internet, a website can be solar-powered from anywhere on the planet.   

To power a website with the AISO solar panels that you see in the photo, you can use the AISO.net web hosting service or another hosting service that has a web server located in the AISO data center.  For example, my spouse has a website for her local counselling business that is hosted with AISO.net.  The site I created, CO2Now.org, is hosted by a nearby Canadian company, solar energy host.com, that runs a web server located inside the AISO data center.  Both websites are powered by the sun in California.      

CO2Now.org puts the spotlight on the continuing problem of harmful and rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere.  Wherever it can be done, and as soon as possible, there is a strong need to make energy changes that keeps fossil fuels in the ground, instead of going into atmosphere and the oceans.  When energy comes from the sun in the sky, fossil fuels are not part of the process.  That is why direct solar energy is better than using power that is entirely or partly generated by fossil fuels, even when the burning of fossil fuels is offset by carbon credits or green tags.  Carbon offsets should only be relied upon when a zero carbon option is not practical.   

The AISO solar-powereed data center makes it possible for small and large website owners to switch right away to energy that is zero carbon, reliable and affordable.  I am very happy that CO2Now.org is hosted by solar energy host.com in the AISO data center, and that this site can help others make their way to an ultra-green, zero-carbon option.