Sunday April 22, 2012 is Earth Day.

For the past couple of weeks I have received numerous e-mails on Earth Day products, events, etc.

But when I get up in the morning and think of Earth Day and the data center industry the first that comes to mind is my dear departed friend Olivier Sanche.

One of the best memories and experiences in my life is to have spent so much time with Olivier, hanging out at the construction site, hanging out at data center events, sitting in data center meetings, his going away party at eBay, eating meals, meeting his family especially his daughter Emilie, and discussing the way things should be. Olivier had a passion that gave him the vision to do things few thought were important.

Here is Olivier at SLC at the eBay data center site.

Olivier speaking at Google's 1st data center energy efficiency summit.

When Olivier was on this panel he said the following.

Olivier Sanche starts by telling the story of his child telling him how the polar bears are drowning, then he thinks he is potentially building a data center that will have a bigger impact to global warming than any other action he has as an individual. Olivier tells his team we need to do the right thing, and how we impact the environment is part of the equation.

This last part is why when I think of Earth Day and Data Centers I think of my dear friend Olivier Sanche.

There are others who I also think of who have the same passion of Olivier, and thankfully they are still with us, trying to figure out how to green the data center.

I think today is a good day to think good thoughts and what Olivier would do.