not sure how much further off track it's possible to be with the whole issue of green hosting

there are power companies in existence who source 100% of their energy from renewable sources - wind, hydro, solar, geothermal etc

so it's not actually that difficult to run a green hosting company - you minimise your use of technology, offset your purchases, and run your entire organisation on power from an accredited source

perhaps this is not the way things run in the USA - I don't know - but I'm pretty sure that most of the rest of the world has caught up with the idea that it is possible to purchase all of your energy requirements from renewable sources

i find that most of the objections to the issue of 'green hosting' come from hosting companies who are not prepared to shoulder the financial cost of redeploying their services in line with the basic principles of sustainability

also, i admit, it's a great deal easier for a relatively new company to come into the market as 'green' given that they are able to start from scratch

still, marketing gimmick or not, hosting companies ignore the clamour for green hosting at their peril

this response is certainly not leveled at the previous post, but more of a response borne of frustration with the cynicism of entrenched world views

and possibly not the right place to be making these remarks (although I am sure there can be nothing wrong with healthy debate about such things anywhere).

While going "green" doesn't always make sense for businesses, or personal for that matter, sometimes it's not always about the money.  Justification is a wonderful thing. There is a market that will pay for "greener services", not because it make a bottom-line look better, it's because their moral compass tells them it's the right thing to do.

In this economic turn-down, as Tony stated, it's a very tough call. Where is that line in the sand that separates or business responsibilities and moral obligation? Also to Tony's point, I'm not certain that looking to our governments is really the answer. Are the tax credits a great bonus? Sure they are, but so is doing to the right thing. After all, ultimately we are our governments. I'd be very curious to see what percentage of DNN folks would plunk down a little more of their green to be "green."

I agree for sure. The whole 'green" thing is sort of a gimick. I always wondered; where does the money go for all those carbon credits? I find that most stuff certified green are really just plain products and services. The only difference I can find so far is in the price.