Right now, the cost of buying servers is the largest data center expense, and power comes second, accounting for around 40 percent of operational costs.

FORBES: Power Management Questions for Every CIO

Replacing nuclear power with renewables could offset some emissions but would require tremendous effort and expense, according to the study, which was supported by the Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making, a consortium of research institutions based at Carnegie Mellon.

FORBES: Shutting Nuclear Plants Would Boost Coal And Carbon Emissions

Second, an expense-conscious global marketplace has rendered IT even more of a cost center, inviting closer financial oversight.

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This is a large expense, but University of Texas President William Powers is firmly behind the center and its research.

CNN: Texas university to build powerful supercomputer

Ted Frank of the Center for Class Action Fairness has won another challenge to a settlement that would have benefited lawyers at the expense of their purported clients, investors.

FORBES: Easterbrook Strikes Again, Slamming Flimsy Derivative Suit