What are the energy impacts of the internet and the digital infrastructures that support it?
The internet is a complex system, with the technology we use becoming increasingly efficient, usage increasing, and access increasing, it would be impossible to calculate energy consumption and carbon emissions from the entire system. Furthermore, there are other impacts on the Land from the internet than just carbon.
In a speculative future there could be a built in mechanism in all hardware and software to measure the energy consumption that links all systems. Websites would have to display where their server is, what is powering it, how much power that server uses, how much energy the page needs to load, how much energy a device needs to download and watch a video, send a photo, download an app, and so much more. Would more visibility in the energy impacts of the internet make us use it differently?
GO BACK [LINK TO MAIN PAGE]
"The cloud" is not in the sky. "The cloud" are data centres. Data centres need a lot of energy, and are powered all day. There has been a recent shift to create more sustainable data centres, but this is the exception, not the norm.
[LINK TO PROJECT] "_carbolytics,
an analysis of the carbon costs of online tracking." February 16, 2022
→ data centres
→ AdTech
[LINK TO ARTICLE] "Hiding greenhouse gas emissions in the cloud" July 13, 2022
→ technology production
[LINK TO ARTICLE] "The carbon footprint of your phone – and how you can reduce it" February 26, 2021
GO BACK [LINK TO MAIN PAGE]
[LINK TO GRAPHIC] "INFOGRAPHIC: THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF THE INTERNET" April 22, 2021
How does the internet work? [LINK TO PAGE]
Digital technologies require energy. Video and audio streaming, email, file transfers, gaming, screen brightness, powering devices, and everything else. Comparatively, this amount of energy for each action is low, but together it can be significant.
→ usage
"Increasingly efficient IT hardware and a major shift to hyperscale data centres have helped to keep electricity demand flat, despite exponential growth in demand for data centre services."
[source: https://www.iea.org/commentaries/data-centres-and-energy-from-global-headlines-to-local-headaches]
200 TWh = approx 1 percent of global electricity
[source: https://energyinnovation.org/2020/03/17/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-really-use/]
[LINK TO ARTICLE] " How much time on average do you spend on your phone on a daily basis?" June 14, 2022
→ crypto
On Monday, June 20th 2022, the hottest temperature on Earth this year and one of the highest "pre-solstice" temperatures ever was recorded.
[source: https://climatereanalyzer.org/]
[LINK TO TWEET] @DigiEconomist
June 14, 2022
"On top of the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining, the effects of the sector’s energy-hunger might also spill over to other parts of the economy. Prior to the latest surge in Bitcoin price, it was already reported that there was a global shortage of chips for an array of electronic devices. The economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis has led to increased consumer demand, resulting in chip shortages and delays in manufacturing."
[source: Bitcoin boom: What rising prices mean for the network’s energy consumption, March 17, 2021]
"chip manufacturing, as opposed to hardware use and energy consumption, accounts for most of the carbon output attributable to hardware systems"
[source: Chasing Carbon: The Elusive Environmental Footprint of Computing, October 28, 2020]
Larva Labs, CryptoPunk #7523 Image courtesy Sotheby's.
Beeple | The First 5000 Days Image courtesy Sotheby's.
→ NFTs
[LINK TO GRAPH] Bitcoin average energy consumption per transaction compared to that of VISA as of April 25, 2022
April 25, 2022
[on Cryptocurrencies and NFTs]
"During unprecedented temperature increases, sea level rise, the total loss of permanent sea ice, widespread species extinction, countless severe weather events, and all the other hallmarks of total climate collapse, this kind of gleeful wastefulness is, and I am not being hyperbolic, a crime against humanity."
[source: HERE IS THE ARTICLE YOU CAN SEND TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY SAY “BUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WITH CRYPTOART WILL BE SOLVED SOON, RIGHT?”, March 3, 2021]
[LINK TO ARTICLE] Bitcoin Uses More Electricity Than Many Countries. How Is That Possible?
September 3, 2021
If the carbon impact of the internet is "relatively low" for being such a big, complex, and global system, then why couldn't we imagine all the energy for it be from renewable energy sources?
The European country of Greece recently surpassed its 2020 goal by making renewables account for 21.7% of the total energy consumption. If the internet takes up 2% of Global Energy consumptions, local and community internets should be able to be powered by renewables.
There are many things that are part of our lives that have bigger carbon footprints than our internet usage, but that does not mean it does not matter.
[LINK TO ARTICLE] Greece Opens Largest Bifacial Solar Panel Farm in Europe
April 13, 2022
[LINK TO ARTICLE] "New York Passes Nation's First Electronics Right-to-Repair Law" June 3, 2022
[LINK TO ARTICLE] "Planned Obsolescence Exposed at Apple and Microsoft, in Light of New French Regulations" April 7 2021
According to Website Carbon, "only 0.26 g of CO2" is produced every time someone visits this website.
[source: https://www.websitecarbon.com/website/platformpotentials-hotglue-me/]
In comparison, the carbon footprint of a banana is 80g CO2.
[source: https://howbadarebananas.com/]
AdTech (advertising technology) "analyses, manages and distributes online advertising" through cookies, tracking technologies, and digital content. All of these things require energy but are often not seen or noticed when using the internet. This purposeful invisibility makes it difficult to challenge and hold corporations accountable. The impacts of this can be explored through in project "_carbolytics".
[source: https://carbolytics.org/]
Often, more carbon emissions come from the materials and production of digital technologies than the impact of their usage.
Often, more carbon emissions come from the materials and production of digital technologies than the impact of their usage. Technology companies want you to buy more so they make more money. Sometimes devices are designed to break, upgrades make old hardware not function, and repairs are not possible without damaging the technology.
Crypto and NFTs use excessive amounts of energy. Some crypto currencies consume more energy than entire countries to support the network. Web3 uses blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs and its development will have extreme energy impacts.