The Staggering #Ecological Impacts of Computation and the #Cloud

Anthropologist Steven Gonzalez illustrates some of the diverse #environmental impacts of data storage.

by Steven Gonzalez Monserrate

Excerpt: "#TheCloud now has a greater #CarbonFootprint than the airline industry. A single #DataCenter can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes. At 200 terawatt hours (TWh) annually, data centers collectively devour more energy than some nation-states. Today, the electricity utilized by data centers accounts for 0.3 percent of overall #CarbonEmissions, and if we extend our accounting to include networked devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets, the total shifts to 2 percent of global carbon emissions.

"Why so much energy? Beyond cooling, the energy requirements of data centers are vast. To meet the pledge to customers that their data and cloud services will be available anytime, anywhere, data centers are designed to be hyper-redundant: If one system fails, another is ready to take its place at a moment’s notice, to prevent a disruption in user experiences. Like Tom’s air conditioners idling in a low-power state, ready to rev up when things get too hot, the data center is a Russian doll of redundancies: redundant power systems like diesel generators, redundant servers ready to take over computational processes should others become unexpectedly unavailable, and so forth. In some cases, only 6 to 12 percent of energy consumed is devoted to active computational processes. The remainder is allocated to cooling and maintaining chains upon chains of redundant fail-safes to prevent costly downtime."

Read more:
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-staggering-ecological-impacts-of-computation-and-the-cloud?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#NoNukesForAI #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForDatacenters #AI #LMs #Datacenters #WaterIsLife

Paris Olympics 2024: French gastronomy, but no French fries, to be served to athletes https://www.diningandcooking.com/1994517/paris-olympics-2024-french-gastronomy-but-no-french-fries-to-be-served-to-athletes/ #CarbonEmissions #CarbonFootprint #FoodAtParisOlympicVillage #francais #france #French #FrenchFries #FrenchMeals #GregoireBechu #mcdonalds #meals #MichelinStarChefs #olympics #Paralympics #Paris2024 #ParisOlympicVillage #ParisOlympics #ParisOlympics2024 #PlaceDeLaConcorde #Sodexo #TonyEstanguet #VegetarianMeals

Protect Our Planet: Our Earth is a gift, and it's our duty to preserve it! Learn practical steps for sustainability, inspired by wisdom from Islam and global environmental leaders. Every action counts—let’s create a greener future! #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #ClimateAction #GoGreen #SaveThePlanet #EnvironmentalAwareness #ReduceReuseRecycle #ZeroWaste #CleanEnergy #GreenLiving #NatureLovers #ProtectWildlife #PlasticFree #CarbonFootprint #GlobalWarming…

https://sundusliban.com/protect-our-planet/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Hey #Canadians looking to #SaveMoney lower our #CarbonFootprint and #reduce #FoodWaste then I recommend checking out #FoodHero
https://foodhero.app.link and if you sign up please consider using my referral code: dustinm10 then we will both get a credit. I've #saved $267 in about 6 months. Only once we got food that was bad, it was prepared gnocchi and they refunded it right away without hassle. It's good food at an even better #price
#Canada #food #money #savings

My company @livtours came to the fediverse to document our #sustainability efforts in #tourism.

It won't be an easy ride, dealing with all aspects of #sustainable tourism, from #overtourism to #accessibility to our #carbonfootprint, but it will certainly be interesting!

My company @livtours came to the fediverse to document our #sustainability efforts in #tourism.

It won't be an easy ride, dealing with all aspects of #sustainable tourism, from #overtourism to #accessibility to our #carbonfootprint, but it will certainly be interesting!

#mastohelp I'm trying to push in my company to measure our carbon footprint (what I'd really like is to create a way to have a continuous estimate, but also a snapshot would be fine).

I'm no expert at all and would definitely need some external help.

Did any of you go through the same process and could provide me with a rough estimate of the cost of the process?

Here's your weekly reminder that we should all try and do our part, but big companies create the vast majority of pollution. We won't fix anything without bringing them under control

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/05/half-of-worlds-co2-emissions-come-from-36-fossil-fuel-firms-study-shows

What If Generative AI Could Help Save The Environment? https://www.byteseu.com/798393/ #CarbonFootprint #EnergyConsumption #environment #EnvironmentalImpact #GenerativeAI #Sustainability

Ready to participate in tomorrow's digital world ?

It's time to rethink the way we interact with technology. From the energy consumed by AI tools to our daily online activities , all the choices we make can have an #impact on the #planet.

What about you ? Tell us what you think !

Beeing a student in a Marketing School right now is interesting. You are given a week long #lowcode exercise making an #app with limited amount of coding. They talk to you for 30 minutes about #ecology #carbonfootprint . With #ai images at every slides of #recycle logos and #solarpunk looking future. What a #dystopia

#Environment #ClimateChange #carbonfootprint
If you want to do something for the planet:
Drive (and fly) less
Dial down on animal products (especially beef and milk products)
Stop shopping and use what you already have.

we're approximately three inches right of fuck

PS: https://earth.org/non-profit-linked-to-oil-giant-shell-donated-to-anti-climate-conservative-groups-behind-project-2025-investigation-reveals/

Ready to participate in tomorrow's digital
world ?

It's time to rethink the way we interact with technology. From the energy consumed by AI tools to our daily
online activities, all the choices we make can have an impact on the planet.

What about you ? Tell us what you think !

Low carbon birding/staycation:

Shift the focus to the small minority of frequent flyers with disproportionately large carbon footprints....
#climateemergency
#socialjustice #inequality #biodiversityloss #carbonfootprint

https://lowcarbonbirding.net/2025/02/05/birdfair-a-reputational-risk/

Really nice concept at the #restaurant of the Edgbaston park hotel, #Birmingham #university: they provide a grade for the plate’s #CarbonFootprint on the menu.

No need to know by heart the food-footprint when choosing what to #eat !

This should be in EVERY restaurant!

Want to reduce plastic in 2025!?
MAKE THE SWITCH!
Start with Eco-Clean Laundry Sheets!
#ecofriendly #plasticfree #messfree #allnatural ingredients.
The Ditty Bag Market and Cafe is our local resource to help the #community reduce its plastic use and lower its #carbonfootprint. Visit the ONLY #zerowaste store in Southeastern Connecticut.
"The Ditty Bag is your trusted source on how to live a zero-waste lifestyle and more! We pledge to carry the products you need to live sustainably. And we pledge to educate the public on zero-waste living.
We are a little store with a big mission."
Monday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
The Ditty Bag LLC
7 Roosevelt Ave, unit 3
Mystic CT
(860)-980-8020
hello@thedittybag.com
https://www.thedittybag.com/
Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce