Greenpeace giveth, and Greenpeace taketh away. The international environmental advocacy group is once again criticizing Apple, this time over the iPad’s addition to the growing market for cloud computing.

AppleInsider is reporting that Greenpeace issued a report this week which cites Apple’s new iPad as one of the “quintessential cloud computing devices” which, by their very nature, will increase demand for online services based around “dirty coal power.”

"To be clear: We are not picking on Apple," the report said. "We are not dissing the iPad. But maybe someone can come up with an app that calculates the carbon footprint of using different web sites based on their location and energy deals.

"Apple is the master of promotion, and while we marvel at the sleek unpolluted design of the iPad, we need to think about where this is all leading and how like all good surfers we can make sure our environment stays clean and green."

The new report, entitled Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change, summarizes that connected mobile devices like the iPad will only increase the use of online services such as social networks and video streaming. As an example, the report notes that Facebook has recently announced construction on its own data center in Prineville, Oregon which runs primarily on coal.

Greenpeace estimates that data centers and telecommunication networks will consume about 1,963 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2020 -- more than triple their current consumption, which makes up over half of the total American electricity consumption. The environmental group suggests that devices like the iPad will “only add to global warming pollution.”

It was only back in January that the environmental group was publicly gushing about how much Apple had cleaned up their act regarding potentially hazardous materials being used in their products. To be fair, the latest report isn’t aimed strictly at Apple, but in general the push by the tech market for more cloud computing services.

(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)