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Specifically, I dig into how the internet works through data centers and networks, both of which contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions through massive energy demand. In all, the internet does have a huge energy demand, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to create a lot of emissions. If the data centers and networks behind the internet instead rely on renewable energies then the internet can possibly be a positive environmental force.
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Transcript Provided by YouTube:
00:00
This video is sponsored by Brilliant, if you stick around until the end, I’ll give you
00:04
a link to get 20% off a premium membership!
00:15
The internet is used by over 4 billion people worldwide.
00:21
And Believe it or not, I’m one of those 4 billion.
00:24
I not only spend large chunks of my days wading through twitter feeds and random Subreddits
00:30
but now my job relies on the video streaming capabilities of YouTube.
00:35
In other parts of my life, I try to reduce my environmental impact.
00:39
But for all the effort I put into creating environmentally ethical daily habits, my internet
00:45
usage always seems to get a pass.
00:47
One of the reasons I don’t think as critically about the Internet and the environment might
00:51
have to do with the relative invisibility of the web’s inner-workings; it’s harder
00:56
to see the impact.
00:58
Because of that invisibility, today I’m going to dig into the infrastructure of the
01:02
internet in order to truly understand its environmental consequences.
01:06
If the IT sector was a country it would rank only behind the U.S. and China in terms of
01:14
global energy demand.
01:16
Although there are really four main areas of the digital world that drive that massive
01:20
energy use, the internet really relies heavily on two: data centers and network communication.
01:27
So first, data centers.
01:29
In a sense, data centers are the new form of factories in our digital world.
01:33
They are the internet, materialized.
01:36
For every website, search, or uploaded video, information gets drawn upon and stored in
01:42
the thousands of stacks of computers that make up a data center.
01:46
Essentially, the internet that we interact with every day is just an intuitive and user-friendly
01:51
way to access those servers.
01:54
And for companies like Google, the amount of information that data centers manage is
01:58
massive.
01:59
That we know of, Google currently runs 16 data centers that act like interconnected
02:04
nodes to handle over 40,000 search queries happening every second.
02:09
To function well then, these engine-like centers require a large amount of electricity.
02:15
This is partly due to the fact that each of those 40,000 searches requires a little bit
02:20
of energy, but also because all of those computers stacked together to generate a lot of heat,
02:26
and the best way to cool them all down is through air conditioning.
02:30
A 2015 study puts data center energy usage at around 300 TWh/year in 2012, which was
02:38
roughly 2% of global demand.
02:40
But as services like video streaming become more prevalent data center energy requirements
02:45
have only increased.
02:46
The same study predicts that data center energy demand could well become 13% of globes total
02:53
thirst for electricity.
02:54
And if all of this energy demand relies heavily on fossil fuels, this could easily spell a
03:00
large boom in greenhouse gas emissions.
03:05
The second piece of the internet puzzle are communication networks.
03:10
According to a recent Greenpeace report, networks made up 29% of the IT sector’s energy footprint
03:16
in 2017.
03:17
Essentially, the internet network is what allows our computers and phones to access
03:22
data centers.
03:23
They are the complicated system of roads and checkpoints that allow us to travel through
03:28
the web.
03:29
But in order to push data from internet servers to our devices, we need physical wiring and
03:34
receiver infrastructure, which requires energy.
03:39
On top of the physical installation of communication feeds carried out by internet service providers,
03:44
routers and receivers send, in very simple terms, electrical signals from data centers
03:49
to your internet device.
03:51
The total energy requirements of communication networks can depend on how you calculate them,
03:57
but one 2012 study asserts that the total global network communications energy usage
04:02
was 354 TWh per year or the equivalent energy needed to power the 32.9 million U.S. homes
04:10
for a year.
04:12
At a predicted growth rate of over 10%, that number has only grown in the last seven years.
04:20
But just because the internet’s infrastructure requires energy, doesn’t necessarily mean
04:25
that the electricity has to have a high emissions footprint attached to it.
04:29
There are big tech companies like Facebook and Google that are making long strides towards
04:35
a greener internet through purchasing renewable energy from utilities and encouraging energy
04:41
efficiency.
04:42
As streaming begins to take over the lion’s share of data and energy usage associated
04:46
with the internet, with estimates now claiming video services account for 80% of internet
04:52
traffic, it’s important to understand that there are two paths forward.
04:56
One that appreciates the environmental consequences of the internet, and the other that relies
05:01
on a business, as usual, fossil-fuel-reliant model.
05:04
Two video giants are treading these divergent paths: Youtube and Netflix.
05:11
Greenpeace rated both companies on a number of different factors like transparency, energy
05:15
make up, and efficiency.
05:18
Netflix received a “D” in part because it rarely makes public the composition of
05:22
its energy usage, relies on Amazon Web Service’s servers which run on non-renewable fuels,
05:28
and because of its lack of advocacy and leadership when it comes to greening data servers and
05:34
ultimately the internet.
05:36
YouTube, on the other hand, received an “A” because it is owned and operated by Google,
05:41
which has purchased over 2.5 Gigawatts of renewable energy for its data servers, has
05:46
implemented tools like machine-learning in their centers to better streamline storage
05:50
and recall, as well as committing to and being transparent about a 100% renewable goal for
05:56
its energy demand.
05:57
Ultimately, the internet’s energy requirements are large and are only getting larger.
06:03
If we’re not careful, this energy will mean more emissions and consumption of fossil fuels.
06:10
But, the internet also has the potential to not only be green but also, in the case of
06:15
a commodity like DVDs, possibly help us do away with some excessive material economies.
06:22
Some tech companies, like Google, are working towards making data centers and infrastructure
06:27
more efficient and greener.
06:29
But a lot aren’t.
06:30
The internet can provide us with so much, but it will only be a positive environmental
06:36
force when the engines at its core stop running on fuels of a past age.
06:50
The internet is definitely a complicated place.
06:52
It involves computers, code, and seemingly all sorts of magic.
06:57
Luckily, Brilliant has an amazing course on the essentials of computer science that might
07:01
help you better understand the world behind the screen.
07:05
Brilliant is a problem-solving website that lets you explore the realms of math and science
07:10
through storytelling, code writing, and problem-solving.
07:14
Which is exactly what you’ll get when you dive into their Computer Science essentials
07:18
course.
07:19
This course is awesome because you’re not just sitting back and reading, instead Brilliant
07:23
peppers in all sorts of quizzes to keep you engaged and learning.
07:27
Ultimately, if you’re like me and new to computer science or want just want to explore
07:31
topics like geometry or physics through interactive courses, then Brilliant is the way to go.
07:38
So, if you want to start learning about algorithms and the essentials of computer science, go
07:42
to brilliant dot org slash OCC, or click the link in the description, and sign up for free.
07:49
As a bonus, the first 200 people that go to that link will get 20% off their annual premium
07:54
membership.
07:56
Hey everyone, Charlie here.
07:58
Thanks so much for watching.
08:00
This video is as always, was made possible by people like you supporting me on patreon.
08:05
They have helped make this whole Youtube dream a reality and made my video making hobby a
08:11
full-time gig.
08:13
So thank you to all my patrons, and I will see you in two weeks.
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
