Is the Internet bad for the environment?

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
  • Support OCC and get 20+ bonus, ad-free videos by signing up for Nebula: go.nebula.tv/occ/
    Be one of the first 200 people to sign up with this link and get 20% off your subscription with Brilliant.org! brilliant.org/...
    In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at the environmental impact of the internet. 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.
    Help me make more videos like this via Patreon: bit.ly/2iz4lIV
    Twitter: / ourclimatenow
    Facebook: / occvideos
    Instagram: / occ.climate
    I use Artlist.io for all my music. You can get 2 months free of Artlist.io with this link: artlist.io/Cha...
    _______
    Resources:
    1. Click Clean Environmental Report (Greenpeace): www.clickclean....
    2. Infographic: The Carbon Footprint of the Internet (Climate Care): climatecare.or...
    3. On Global Electricity Usage of Communication Technology: Trends to 2030 (Andrae & Edler): www.mdpi.com/2...
    4. Energy Consumption in Wired and Wireless Access Networks (Baliga et al.): people.eng.uni...
    5. Power Trends in Communication Networks (Blume et al.): www.academia.e...
    6. Worldwide electricity consumption of communication networks (Lambert et al.): www.osapublish...
    7. Carbon Footprinting the Internet (Joel Gombiner): journals.cdrs....
    #internet #sustainability #OCC

Komentáře • 380

  • @OurChangingClimate
    @OurChangingClimate  Před 5 lety +184

    What sites do you spend the most time on when you're using the internet? For me it's CZcams :)

    • @alyssamaeolpenda4464
      @alyssamaeolpenda4464 Před 5 lety +8

      me too but most effecting our environment is Trump not the internet

    • @cameronleaney7860
      @cameronleaney7860 Před 5 lety +13

      dont lie, its pornhub

    • @silcrorecords
      @silcrorecords Před 5 lety +12

      My daily average on CZcams is like 5 hours lmao

    • @Michellefabness
      @Michellefabness Před 5 lety

      sameee

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety +8

      Here's some tips to reduce your environmental impact, lower your screen brightness to the minimum, buy high efficiency power supplies, unplug your devices when not using it, and turn off your devices when you aren't using it.

  • @benraminprarmin1452
    @benraminprarmin1452 Před 5 lety +517

    Next video: Is Brilliant Sustainable?

  • @cad10666
    @cad10666 Před 5 lety +516

    Is being human bad for the environment?

    • @fire_dude2444
      @fire_dude2444 Před 5 lety +86

      Yes

    • @mtacticool7168
      @mtacticool7168 Před 5 lety +35

      *YES*

    • @Hyperactivi
      @Hyperactivi Před 5 lety +40

      that's an actually very interesting question. Because what does it mean to be human in this day and age?

    • @Noukz37
      @Noukz37 Před 5 lety +16

      That would be a unsurprisingly short video my friend. :-)

    • @watmosphere
      @watmosphere Před 5 lety +30

      implying humans aren't part of the environment

  • @Melange2
    @Melange2 Před 3 lety +69

    The impact of the internet does take away huge emissions from other sectors when people spend more time online rather doing other high-demand activities. In the end, the internet may be one of the best thing for the environment there is

    • @chuangtzu950
      @chuangtzu950 Před 3 lety +11

      THIS! We need a full scale comparison of how the internet may reduce emissions in other sectors. In the end of the day I believe it's likely it's a force for good

    • @Ra-nw2sx
      @Ra-nw2sx Před 3 lety +1

      @@chuangtzu950 While that is true, the huge increase in GHG from the IT industry is almost exponentially going up. We will need to have a close look on how GHG-emissions are going to increase before we're gonna be able to do an assessment of how IT impacts will be compared to the reduction of others sectors due to their decline due to the IT sector taking a larger piece of the pie.
      I'm carefully positive but would love to see more research of this in coming years.

    • @gurikasemit
      @gurikasemit Před 2 lety

      Or people come to the internet to quickly get the info needed to take the other actions detrimental to the environment.
      Internet connection can help with the organization of a corporation that destroys the environment or a CZcamsr trying to inform the people about the harm being done by the corporation.

    • @peterbelanger4094
      @peterbelanger4094 Před 2 lety +3

      Let's not forget that all of the equipment that the internet resides on absolutely depends on a product derived from crude oil or depends on a product derived from crude oil to manufacture. All this high technology is not magic. It is precision engineered from an assortment of materials and rare earth elements that have to be mined.
      Precision engineering requires advanced lubricants to make the components. Electronic components are made from various minerals that must be mined from the ground.
      It is a complex mesh of interdependent technologies that if one or several of those components are upset, manufacture will be impossible.
      It can not be done without extracting resources from the ground, including oil.
      If you truly want a "sustainable" world, you will need to abandon all this fancy computer stuff too.

    • @peterbelanger4094
      @peterbelanger4094 Před 2 lety +2

      After seeing what the internet has done to the social fabric of society over the decades.
      I conclude that the internet was a terrible idea.

  • @ozziemerrett3705
    @ozziemerrett3705 Před 5 lety +221

    1000+ IQ idea: data centres in like the artic or Antarctica and they just open the windows

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety +27

      More like data centers in Canada. They also, need to be close to the users of the data center. 80 IQ idea.

    • @mik13ST
      @mik13ST Před 5 lety +6

      What about heat to energy conversion? Steam engines were doing just that, although they will be less efficient because of lower temperature differential (due to thermodynamic laws or something). An alternative to a steam engine is the Stirling engine (produces mechanical work) or the Peltier cell (produces electricity). There are possibilities, just explore them.

    • @brokkoliomg6103
      @brokkoliomg6103 Před 5 lety +4

      I think I remember an idea form a few years back where some internet giants wanted to do just that in Iceland. And they wanted to use geothermal as renewable electricity source. But idk what happened to that idea.
      I just know that Microsoft tried something similar and put a small sever center in the sea next to Scotland where it could be cooled by the seawater.

    • @brokkoliomg6103
      @brokkoliomg6103 Před 5 lety +2

      @@mik13ST I'm studying something with Energy and one of my teachers actually tells us that this is possible, but often not economic because the machines break before being paid off. So idk. Good idea, but not working yet.

    • @RandomGuy-nm6bm
      @RandomGuy-nm6bm Před 5 lety +3

      @Saptarshi Saha you forget about condensation
      Anything below room temperature will form condensation on the chips which will break them

  • @Sarahlenea
    @Sarahlenea Před 5 lety +31

    The impact of the Internet is essentially due to videos: when you post a video (or image) on the Internet, it makes a HUGE difference to post the video (and watch it) in low definition. This can divide the climate impact of a video by 10 or more.
    It is also important to regularly delete the content that is no longer relevant and to avoid storing lots of documents in the cloud. It is a bit of an illusion to think that something is really "dematerialized"; information is always stored somewhere. Also, refurbished phones and computers are a very efficient way to reduce IT's environmental footprint.
    I'm wondering how bad will be the impact of the 5G...

    • @rufusjohngoa
      @rufusjohngoa Před 2 lety

      Can you please explain how does the internet emmit co2?

    • @Sarahlenea
      @Sarahlenea Před 2 lety +2

      @@rufusjohngoa Sure!
      The explosion of data and digitalisation has a huge impact both in terms of ressource consumptions and CO2 emissions:
      - To access any digital services, we need hardware. Each time we fetch data, and in particular video streaming, which represents by far the largest share of the data flowing over the networks, we call on material and energy resources, and therefore generate greenhouse gas emissions.
      - Data network infrastructures are dimensioned to meet peak consumption. So you need to build infrastructures that will allow you to transmit these increasingly important data flows. And then you need more and more datacenters to store this data on servers (which consume large amounts of energy because they need to be cooled 24/7).
      - then you have your own computer/smartphone that consume energy and ressources. And with the increasing weight of images, videos and the like, they will consume more data/energy and you will need to change them to maintain acceptable performances.
      - even when you just use a search engine, your request goes through the local loop and then the Internet network, to the data center of the search engine. Then, each time you click on a link, you request the data center of the website host. The host then sends you data. You then store cookies on your computer, then download, print or store documents, etc. All these processes consume energy and resources (NB: going directly to the address of a website, instead of going through a search engine, divides the carbon impact by 4).
      So the lighter websites, videos and documents are, the better!
      NB: I'm not an English native speaker so I hope I used all the right technical terms.

    • @rufusjohngoa
      @rufusjohngoa Před 2 lety

      @@Sarahlenea What about phones do they emmit co2? Like directly or indirectly because of charging?

    • @user-gu9yq5sj7c
      @user-gu9yq5sj7c Před rokem

      @@rufusjohngoa Watch DW Planet A on bitcoins and zoom meetings. Making the servers and throwing them out in years causes waste and pollution.
      2:15-2:30 This video said the servers take energy and energy for AC to cool them.
      It depends on if your phone is charged with green energy. But most energy uses some coal right now. You can get solar panels.

    • @Derrr-zy7gb
      @Derrr-zy7gb Před rokem

      @@rufusjohngoa The materials used to manufacture phones have high emmisions. The data they store and the electricity they use to work also emits Co2.

  • @ScarecrOmega
    @ScarecrOmega Před 5 lety +83

    I would like to see a video on the environmental impact of cruise ship tourism

    • @avacurtis2729
      @avacurtis2729 Před 3 lety

      I would love this

    • @irenvega9372
      @irenvega9372 Před 3 lety

      Our internet consumption pollutes a lot and I think that we should save our time to use the internet in a more efficient way. Watching videos is the most polluting activity. Is a responsible internet possible? I'm debating the Polemix App right now because it's much better to express your opinions than to read them on youtube, complicated. You can join the debate I must have free invitations left with my code: LA740

    • @aceslizeski1882
      @aceslizeski1882 Před 2 lety

      czcams.com/video/0nCT8h8gO1g/video.html here ya go

    • @cakeisyummy5755
      @cakeisyummy5755 Před 2 lety

      Honestly, we could get rid of Cruise Ship Tourism without hurting the vast Majority of People.
      Only a few use those Ships. :/

    • @illuminate4622
      @illuminate4622 Před 2 lety

      @@cakeisyummy5755 Maybe in America. But not here between Finland and Estonia. The ships here run on LNG which burns clean and could be easily replaced with synthetic renewable methane instead of diesel which the American ships probably run on.

  • @CarbonRadio
    @CarbonRadio Před 5 lety +53

    The infrastructure of the internet should be the focus of onsite renewable energy investment. This is where big tech can help reduce carbon footprint.

    • @proudhon100
      @proudhon100 Před 5 lety +1

      There is no such thing as renewable energy. A typical 3MW wind turbine requires 400 tonnes of concrete - cement manufacture is the most carbon intensive manufacturing process in the world, and we are actually running ot of sand.

  • @astrid3545
    @astrid3545 Před 5 lety +54

    people this is why you should delete all nonimportant emails and block spam mails. It is a little time consuming but it is worth it :)

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety +10

      Great point, but it's funny even if you "delete" it most companies keep it in the servers forever, or until something else overwrites it.

    • @MsHumanOfTheDecade
      @MsHumanOfTheDecade Před 5 lety +4

      @@Gamerad360 that's because on a large data service scale, mutability is a service KILLER. it opens up possibilities for your software to break down in oh-so-many ways. that's why it's usually only a last-ditch effort to save on costs. deleting only when you're CERTAIN that nothing will need it.

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety +3

      @@MsHumanOfTheDecade Also, the companies own your data and use that to target you with ads, and sell it to other companies.

    • @jackvac1918
      @jackvac1918 Před 3 lety

      The energy consumed to keep your non-important emails on a server is minuscule compared to the energy you would consume just keeping your device on to take the extra time to manually manage those emails.

    • @aronseptianto8142
      @aronseptianto8142 Před 3 lety

      @@Gamerad360 you can see it in that sinister way for sure, but the simpler answer is that deleting takes effort, it's much easier to just leave the data lingering there until it get overidden, not to mention the dependency that it might affect when you delete something

  • @devonrd
    @devonrd Před 5 lety +9

    Just sent an email to Netflix stating that I want them to change how they use energy and become transparent about their energy usage. I hope others do the same. We should push companies to make better choices :)

  • @laletemanolete
    @laletemanolete Před 5 lety +35

    I've said it before and I say it again. Top video here, great information and the graphics are gorgeous! You've got to teach me how to do that! I'll become a patreon!

  • @blitzamater3441
    @blitzamater3441 Před 5 lety +23

    Nice transitions between clips. Great work, it is very smooth. I like that :)

  • @sebjuv123
    @sebjuv123 Před 5 lety +5

    In general, I agree with Musk when he says ' we shouldn't be feeling guilty about our electricity usage'. There is energy all around us to be harvested; by means of solar panels, wind turbines, and a basically unlimited source of energy from our tides. Beyond the fact that the internet allows us to use less material goods (CD's etc), it also can serve as a highly effective educational tool. Although I don't know the stats, I think it may serve as an effective counterbalance when discussing energy use of internet servers. Yes, data centers use x CO2 globally due to their energy requirement, but how many people have reduced the amount of time driving due to maps? How many people have reduced their meat consumption? How many people watch CZcams rather than TV?
    Similarly, in a more negative light, how many people now buy more stuff from Amazon, due to its speed and convenience? How much more air traffic is there due to Prime?
    All in all, I think the internet is a net benefit to the environment, but we must be mindful of how it's used.
    Great Video.

  • @totoroben
    @totoroben Před 5 lety +17

    I wonder what my carbon emissions are from streaming a show vs getting a DVD from my library.

    • @julianlawrence1648
      @julianlawrence1648 Před 3 lety

      A DVD from the library is waaaay more sustainable than streaming video on the internet.

    • @irenvega9372
      @irenvega9372 Před 3 lety

      Our internet consumption pollutes a lot and I think that we should save our time to use the internet in a more efficient way. Watching videos is the most polluting activity. Is a responsible internet possible? I'm debating the Polemix App right now because it's much better to express your opinions than to read them on youtube, complicated. You can join the debate I must have free invitations left with my code: LA740

  • @FJParravicini
    @FJParravicini Před 5 lety +8

    I really appreciate the focus of your channel and the amount of effort you put into it, mate, there should be more like it.
    Very informational as well, I never thought about this either. The lack of a material aspect to the internet makes it feel like it's basically just air haha

  • @user-zk7fx2jq7d
    @user-zk7fx2jq7d Před 5 lety +7

    Great editing! The cuts, the edits, the music, the script, everything fits together well. Looking forward to your next video, Charlie!
    An idea I would like to add: Websites like CZcams (e.g. your channel) can help to educate people about sustainability and climate change, thus having a positive effect in other areas as well. At least I like to think like that, I mostly use CZcams for educational purposes and music.

  • @S0dap0pb0ttle
    @S0dap0pb0ttle Před 5 lety +41

    I love these videos so much! So well constructed!

  • @hamtaru
    @hamtaru Před 3 lety +2

    just learnt not deleting emails create a ton of pollution so now I'm here trying to see what else i do that creates pollution

  • @prasad2897
    @prasad2897 Před 5 lety +59

    Next video,is television more sustainable than Netflix?

    • @Sanjay-ub7eq
      @Sanjay-ub7eq Před 3 lety

      🤔

    • @illuminate4622
      @illuminate4622 Před 2 lety

      Traditional broadcasting is kinda inefficient when you're just blasting megawatts of RF into the air for a fraction of it to be picked up by antennas here and there. The internet is much more efficient with its fiber optic cables providing the information only to where it's needed.

  • @etiennelamole9565
    @etiennelamole9565 Před 5 lety +3

    I’d like to mention that some (very few) datacenters that run on renewables use their heat generation to heat up buildings. That’s a crazy good idea!

    • @illuminate4622
      @illuminate4622 Před 2 lety +1

      District heating in general is an awesome idea. Being a Finn it's really weird to think it's not used much outside the Nordics. It's really efficient because you can use a combination of any heat sources you have and even have storages, just like the electric grid.

  • @darshita1270
    @darshita1270 Před rokem

    this channel finds the existence of literally anything bad for the environment. A very performative channel imo.

  • @jadechng5
    @jadechng5 Před 5 lety +4

    Everyime I watch your videos I learn so much, you really deserve more subscribers!! I love to share your videos to my friends to expose them to issues relvoing sustainability - don't stop!

  • @hellothere921
    @hellothere921 Před 5 lety +23

    This video was extremely fascinating. I never even considered this.

  • @nathanfife2890
    @nathanfife2890 Před 5 lety +15

    Should have spent more time talking about AWS. That's where most of the internet traffic is these days.

  • @ChuckleHoneybear
    @ChuckleHoneybear Před 5 lety +9

    I find your videos oddly calming, almost like asmr.

  • @dianadietz
    @dianadietz Před rokem

    I'm looking for a simple handout to show the pros and cons of data centers. This is needed to educate consumers and give them an actionable plan for reducing their use of digital data. Most folks have NO idea that old forgotten emails just sitting in an account use energy even though they don't DO anything. It's like keeping 100's of lights on in your house 24/7 for no reason. Thank you.

  • @kolarungu
    @kolarungu Před 5 lety +7

    Interesting! Never thought that the "internet"require lots of energy

    • @irenvega9372
      @irenvega9372 Před 3 lety

      Our internet consumption pollutes a lot and I think that we should save our time to use the internet in a more efficient way. Watching videos is the most polluting activity. Is a responsible internet possible? I'm debating the Polemix App right now because it's much better to express your opinions than to read them on youtube, complicated. You can join the debate I must have free invitations left with my code: LA740

  • @neildegrassetyson2615
    @neildegrassetyson2615 Před 5 lety +2

    Hey maybe you could make a video about gardens, i think that there is much to improve how we garden but not many really know the importance.

  • @matteoheppe8862
    @matteoheppe8862 Před 4 lety +1

    Honsetly the awareness to environmental impact ratio this channel is good. Though it might not be good for the environment it spreads awareness so keep doing what you doing !

  • @dansarmasan7634
    @dansarmasan7634 Před 4 lety +1

    Hi, I would like to see a video about the following.
    What is better for the environment?
    A) upgrading the hardware of the PC each 3 years or
    B) playing in Cloud on a service like GEEFORCE NOW?
    In my case both A and B would use 100% renewable electricity for the operation but both would probably upgrade the components.
    The other downside of streaming games is the network but I’m not as into these things like you @ourchangingclimate
    The videogames streaming is a Big thing coming and we could use some deeper understanding on effects :). There are many gamers out there :D

  • @calebjiang4056
    @calebjiang4056 Před 5 lety +8

    The internet uses very little energy for the relative benefit. i.e. a digital cloud synced notepad vs a paper notepad. Focus on bigger issues like fracking instead of relatively insignificant energy consumption like scooters and digital devices.

    • @AgentPaul101
      @AgentPaul101 Před 5 lety +3

      don't get me started on these scootes. they waste batteries like nothing else!

    • @calebjiang4056
      @calebjiang4056 Před 5 lety

      @@AgentPaul101 ??? Scooters use 1/20th to 1/50th the energy of an EV per mile, they're far more efficient than any other from of electric personal transport we have right now. (Other than ebikes)

    • @verylongname8161
      @verylongname8161 Před 5 lety +1

      @@calebjiang4056 by that he means waste battery because the average scooter lasts like a month(shared) and batteries are making is bad for the planet

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety

      You don't understand the waste in data centers, they'll completely destroy good ssds every few years, in a unrecyclable state. They run air conditioning constantly to keep everything very cold, but don't have energy efficient buildings. Air conditioning has a serious negative environmental impact. Data centers are very wasteful, I should know I've been to 3 of them.

    • @verylongname8161
      @verylongname8161 Před 5 lety

      @@Gamerad360 yeah, but newer ones are WAAAAYYY better or even underwater

  • @jg1681
    @jg1681 Před 5 lety +3

    Thank you! I've been wondering this for quite a while.

  • @SnackLive
    @SnackLive Před 5 lety +2

    dude i really love this channel, but the thing i love the most is this guy voice i swear is the most relaxing thing ever ♥

  • @EmilePainchaud
    @EmilePainchaud Před 5 lety +1

    I love the quality of your videos, they seem perfect to me and I always learn a lot from them

  • @QoraxAudio
    @QoraxAudio Před 2 lety

    How about a video on the renewability of renewables?
    Like the recycling of wind turbines and solar panels.

  • @KbB-kz9qp
    @KbB-kz9qp Před 3 lety

    The internet is of course a big energy user, and I have wondered, if 100 people order things from Amazon, instead of 100 cars going to the mall and home again, which method uses more gas, electric etc.?
    More broadly, globalism seems like it uses more energy than how it was before. For example, in those days, cotton was grown in Mississippi, harvested and shipped to textile mills in Alabama. There is was made into cloth, and that was shipped to New Jersey, where it was sewn into shirts. Once complete, the shirts were sent to stores on the Atlantic Coast, and of course were also shipped by rail to Chicago, where they were distributed nationwide.
    Now the cotton is harvested in Mississippi and sent to New Orleans, hauled by cargo ship to Asia, where it is made into cloth, then into shirts, and shipped back across the Pacific to Long Beach or Oakland, whereupon the shirts are distributed across the country.
    End-to-end, which method uses more fuel/causes more pollution? I would like to know.

  • @MarioRafaelM
    @MarioRafaelM Před 5 lety +9

    Is sending VHS tapes or DVDs with content of Our Changing Climate through mail sustainable?

    • @alek488
      @alek488 Před 5 lety

      Mario Rafael not really

    • @ishaand92
      @ishaand92 Před 5 lety

      It requires plastic, paper, and consume energy

    • @starchannel123
      @starchannel123 Před 5 lety

      e-shahn D. Yes but what if they are old VHS or DVDs? Wouldn't it be less energy because they don't need to be stored 24/7

    • @illuminate4622
      @illuminate4622 Před 2 lety

      @@starchannel123 Storing data on solid state drives doesn't consume any energy either.

  • @thanos4314
    @thanos4314 Před 5 lety +2

    Although the Internet does use an enormous amount of energy to run, on a local scale it's not bad at all. When we switch over to using sustainable energy sources completely, there will be no problem.

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety +2

      Theres still the nature of strip mining rare metals, and and air conditioning releasing heated water vapor. Also, even renewable energy has a substantial carbon footprint.

  • @olaves2006
    @olaves2006 Před 5 lety +28

    What’s the carbon footprint of an 8 minute video?

    • @trevormatthews7981
      @trevormatthews7981 Před 5 lety +5

      That depends on what you count. The video voice dismissed the manufacturer and devices CO2 but did include a pie chart that suggested 50% of associated CO2 was linked to the hardware.
      Your question needs more thought. It is like asking how much CO2 does a 10km car trip produce. There is the fuel for the journey. The motor size and fuel. But what about a share of the manufacture of the vehicle, the maintenance of the vehicle, the road construction and maintenance.

    • @olaves2006
      @olaves2006 Před 5 lety

      Trevor Matthews it’s the never ending question. 8 minutes of electricity used to power each device (tablet, phone, TV...), their manufacturing costs etc

    • @marmolejomartinezjoseemili9043
      @marmolejomartinezjoseemili9043 Před 3 lety

      Trevor Matthews I think we should see how much people watch this video or watch videos in general on their phones

  • @MysticalPerformer
    @MysticalPerformer Před rokem

    Im amazed with the editings in this video

  • @theteatimesessions9057

    Your videos are so instructive and fascinating BUT, please consider doing them without the relentless mix of music in the background? Your voice is perfect for relaying your hard work but often the soundtrack distracts from what you are saying.

  • @vibrantcolors255
    @vibrantcolors255 Před 4 lety +2

    OMG, I never knew what's behind the internet.

  • @vtran130
    @vtran130 Před 5 lety +1

    This was really insightful. Thanks for making these videos!!

  • @LogicGated
    @LogicGated Před 3 lety

    Nice this often goes overlooked.

  • @Noukz37
    @Noukz37 Před 5 lety +2

    Ah man, another topic I am thinking about, you're reading my mind! I think 4K is compeletly pointless, I'm more than happy with a 1080 in 60fps, and even that is data intensive.
    P.S. I just bought myself a par of Allbirds because of you! :-)

  • @aronseptianto8142
    @aronseptianto8142 Před 3 lety

    i think it's a bit simplistic to look at the internet purely from its energy usage. it might be more useful to see the behavioural change it allows
    off course ranging from positive to negative. internet allows consumer to consume in a more smart way, knowing whether a product is good, how to fix it or how to better utlize it rather than buying a new product. but it also has been the main driving force of the incessant ads that makes us consume more

  • @mermaiddirector
    @mermaiddirector Před 5 lety +2

    This may be very naive statement, but would it work to house data centers in naturally cold climates and cut down on the AC usage? Perhaps by piping in outside air? I guess venting the hot air out would negatively impact the climate of where the center was housed, but it's a thought. I understand they can get too cold as well. It's the Goldilocks Effect - got to find the sweet spot between hot, cold, and reach.

    • @whatsgoingon92
      @whatsgoingon92 Před 5 lety

      Interesting question raised. Commenting here to get notification of feedback.

    • @mauricesupot6641
      @mauricesupot6641 Před 5 lety +1

      Christine Collins You can do it. That’s why data centers and bitcoin mining centers are often being done in cold areas, however another note is the electricity source. If it is from hydro, then the power is cleaner and less carbon emissions. Areas that use coal would have higher carbon footprint. But another potential issue of congregating large data centers in cold climates may cause it too become a large-scale heater which may accelerate the temperature warming in our glaciers.

  • @Zander-lw7mo
    @Zander-lw7mo Před 5 lety +5

    Your videos are amazing!
    Keep it up!

  • @m3l0nade
    @m3l0nade Před 5 lety +2

    Hey, can you explain if ecosia is still the better choice even though google uses renewable energy for its system?

    • @proudhon100
      @proudhon100 Před 5 lety +2

      There is no such thing as renewable energy. Wind turbines and solar PV require masses of material (steel, copper, plastic, rare earths etc) that require fossil fuel energy to get them manufactuered. A 3MW wind turbine requires 400 tonnes of concrete, and cement prodution is the most carbon intensive manufacturing process in the world.

    • @m3l0nade
      @m3l0nade Před 5 lety

      @@proudhon100 but isn't it more ecological on a long term viev, since it doesn't repeatedly use fossil fuel? Maybe I understood you wrong and you were just explaining why the word "renewable" shouldn't be used in this context. My question was just, if ecosia would still be a better choice than google, when comparing the carbon footprints. Thanks for the explanation though

    • @proudhon100
      @proudhon100 Před 5 lety +2

      @@m3l0nade There is an energy "capital cost" upfront to build a turbine or a solar voltaic. You have to use prodigious quantities of fossil energy to refine and extract and process steel, copper and all the other materials. Unfortunately, the carbon footprint over a 25 year time period, being the life of such a device, works out at the same as directly using fossil fuel. We need to think more in terms of using less energy, far less energy. You may find this article helpful. consciousnessofsheep.co.uk/2019/07/18/why-do-you-hate-renewables/

    • @m3l0nade
      @m3l0nade Před 5 lety

      @@proudhon100 Thanks a lot! I appreciate your response, and the article was really interesting!

    • @m3l0nade
      @m3l0nade Před 5 lety

      @@proudhon100 so I did some research, and I must say that I don't fully agree with your point of viev. I do agree, that renewables are not a solution to the problem, and that we have to drastically reduce our need for energy, but I do believe, that it is better to invest in renewables instead of fossil fuels, since the footprint of a wind turbine is a lot smaller than the footprint of coal. I think this article is very interesting: www.factcheck.org/2018/03/wind-energys-carbon-footprint/

  • @brokkoliomg6103
    @brokkoliomg6103 Před 5 lety +1

    What about the prototype of Microsofts Server Center next to Scotland? They threw it into the sea so it gets cooled by seawater. Also interesting.

  • @joycejean-baptiste4355

    About twenty years ago there was a company looking for people to work from home. The guy said he used to drive to and from work adding to pollution. He was breathing the pollution from the cars around him and using a lot of gas. So he started a work from home on your computer business. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I imagine you have to protect your eyes and don't sit all day. I took a course in 1987. Ee had the doss disk. And square computers that looked like T. V. 's.

  • @allysandrailagan327
    @allysandrailagan327 Před 3 lety +1

    Hi guys! i know many people will ignore this comment, but for those who didn't, hear me out :) if u love the environment, please use Ecosia as your search engine. For every 45 searches u make, a tree will be planted somewhere. if you think this is fake, u can always look at their channel in youtube. Also stay safe guys :)

    • @dianadietz
      @dianadietz Před rokem

      I've been using Ecosia for at least a year, ever since I went down the data center rabbit hole b/c my small town in GA has courted and won a 615 acre QTS data center project right beside beautiful neighborhoods, a hospital, and 2 elementary schools. Watch out, investors are drooling over the profits to be made as data center proliferation infects communities and we all pay the price in one way or another. Data centers are stealing all the renewable energy from consumers and damaging the environment in myriad ways. We all need to pay attention and do our part to mitigate the damage. BTW, QTS is deforesting 615 acres of trees and wetlands to build concrete warehouses and parking lots. And yet they have the gall to claim they're going to be 100% sustainable soon. Oh yeah, GA taxpayers also gave them millions in tax breaks even though they provide minimal jobs at average salaries. A very dishonest industry!

  • @mountainslopes
    @mountainslopes Před 5 lety +1

    How can IT rank below China and the US when part of those countries' totals is the IT infrastructure?

    • @proudhon100
      @proudhon100 Před 5 lety

      Think transport, lighting, cooking, manufacturing, heating, refrigeration etc

    • @mountainslopes
      @mountainslopes Před 5 lety

      @@proudhon100 Yeah I get that, but the presentation of the statistics was misleading, given they didn't separate it

  • @robertcallaghan4029
    @robertcallaghan4029 Před 5 lety +5

    At only one minute in, I'm very impressed because I've read that air conditioning will use up all our solar and wind energy by 2050, and that solar and wind power are less than 3% of total world energy demand. My next comment may be shadow banned.

  • @haloclips5387
    @haloclips5387 Před 3 lety

    I recommend unsubscribing from unnecessary emails to reduce load on email servers.

  • @DragonFang409
    @DragonFang409 Před 5 lety

    Not only that, but many devices require the use of rare earth materials, which the unearthing of has a huge impact on the environment. I must admit, I’m on the internet more than I should, similar to you I try to live a sustainable lifestyle, and I truly am trying to cut down on internet usage for the sake of myself and the environment

  • @kimpalonen1978
    @kimpalonen1978 Před 2 lety

    Can the heat from computer generation not be recycled or otherwise better utilized?

  • @janlucaskessler6050
    @janlucaskessler6050 Před 3 lety

    Good video, although I still miss a part about produced E-waste due to the short life expectancy of phones computers etc. And the rare metals needed for production. I think there is another layer of (un)sustainability.

  • @cromwellcruz
    @cromwellcruz Před 5 lety +1

    Can we get insight on your editorial process?

  • @becominG00
    @becominG00 Před 5 lety

    Thank YOU so much for this informative insight into the web!

  • @AgentPaul101
    @AgentPaul101 Před 5 lety +3

    this story reminds us, that it needs individual action as well as collectiv ones. on the one hand you need people to change their behavoir, like using less streaming sites or using only one device at a time instead of phone, tv and laptop at the same time, and it needs cooperations to use renewable energy to cool and power their networks and servers, with needs regulation by collective institutions.
    thanks for showing the hidden emissions in the internet-usage!

    • @oldfag_adventures
      @oldfag_adventures Před 5 lety

      honestly you'd be doing more for the environment if you shirked your personal responsibility of streaming less and just mounted a coup on the bourgeoisie. the 1% pollutes more than the 99% combined

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety

      The real issue is the internet could be 200% more energy efficient, if anyone actually cared about the environment, but the average person justifies destroying the environment, and doesn't really understand how bad it is compared to what it could be.

    • @oldfag_adventures
      @oldfag_adventures Před 5 lety

      @@Gamerad360 blame capitalism, it's unprofitable to care for the environment

    • @Gamerad360
      @Gamerad360 Před 5 lety +1

      @@oldfag_adventures That's a scapegoat the real reason is most of us don't know, or don't care. I've been talking about this for years, but very few people care. Really the root of the problem is lack of awareness, and the government for not enforcing energy efficiency standards.

  • @waytogopual
    @waytogopual Před 4 lety

    I don’t know if this will help and I don’t know much about this topic but I thought maybe CZcams videos will atomically delete themselves to save up storage in those data centers, I don’t know maybe after like 5 years after uploading they will delete themselves.

    • @ultraviolet.catastrophe
      @ultraviolet.catastrophe Před 4 lety

      Hi. Once you upload a video on CZcams, and everything goes well, your video will exist indefinitely. They are not auto-deleted after some time.

  • @LauraSomeNumber
    @LauraSomeNumber Před 5 lety

    Could we place them in coming cold places and use the excess heat to heat houses?
    I know in Copenhagen, Denmark we have a district cooling system that uses cold seawater.

  • @gifttanakan
    @gifttanakan Před 2 lety

    Great videos. Thank you for sharing this! It helps broaden and deepen my understanding of the internet much more. I'm a web developer who cares about lowing my websites' carbon footprint.

  • @guillaumeturcotte6181
    @guillaumeturcotte6181 Před 5 lety

    Can you make a video that explain which is the best for the environment between Apple, Microsoft and Samsung?

  • @orcalover5942
    @orcalover5942 Před 5 lety

    Dude, your awesome. Keep doing what your doing!

  • @IWorkDoodles
    @IWorkDoodles Před 6 měsíci

    Thank you

  • @johnlocke4695
    @johnlocke4695 Před 5 lety +4

    I would argue the internet makes good to environmental than bad. Because the internet provides free and quality education around the world which helps to drive education on environment and innovation, technological advancements which help efficiency in machines.

    • @sd8313
      @sd8313 Před 5 lety +1

      Npc #57335899 and it has things like ecosia and free rice

  • @markschuette3770
    @markschuette3770 Před 3 lety

    what i want to know is how much energy is used by the internet to store all this unused data- for years!!! how much energy does it take to store one BITE of data??

  • @kirstenwilliams9246
    @kirstenwilliams9246 Před 4 lety

    I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t speak about air conditioning more, since the extinction rebellion movement states that it is the number one contributor to climate change. Is there a way to cool down these data centres without using refridgerant?

  • @martinmpaz
    @martinmpaz Před 5 lety

    Excellent material. Thanks Charlie!

  • @42thgamer80
    @42thgamer80 Před 4 lety

    Interessting video, is there a way to make campanies use more grren energy and other things so they produce less co2?

  • @laralebeu36
    @laralebeu36 Před 5 lety

    Another great one, keep it up!

  • @edwinfeliz5487
    @edwinfeliz5487 Před 4 lety

    great video, sir

  • @MoStip
    @MoStip Před 4 lety

    Thx, good topic raising awareness on liking, sharing and posting nonsense!

  • @-lll-ll-llll-AVE
    @-lll-ll-llll-AVE Před 4 lety +1

    Hi all,
    I have recently discovered an app (I believe it also exist as a search engine extension) called "Carbonalyser".
    It (roughly?) tracks and calculates your digital energy consumption, in Go used, in kWh and in CO2 emitted.

  • @eugeniarocha25
    @eugeniarocha25 Před 5 lety

    This video is so educational!! Thank you!

  • @turbo_jake
    @turbo_jake Před 4 lety +1

    Me: wow, I’ve finally made the changes in my life to be climate friendly
    OCC: *I’ll stop you right there buckaroo*

  • @schmudge
    @schmudge Před 5 lety

    Did you mention our AC units keeping us cool while we surf? Air Cons pump out heat for what result?

  • @redeer4891
    @redeer4891 Před 5 lety +1

    Your videos are so great and interesting ! Thanks for making these.

  • @Beeblebroxologist
    @Beeblebroxologist Před 5 lety

    Wouldn't that mean that streaming at lower quality would save energy?
    Do we really need to half-watch youtube videos in the background, in HD? Same goes for all the ads really.

  • @zbynekcodykolacek
    @zbynekcodykolacek Před 5 lety

    Definitely obvious, that energy hunger is growing worldwide. Nations need good energy sources portfolio, going 100% green is PR, I think. Germany closed all nuke plants, closing coal plants but they need “ dirty energy “ from Czech Rep. , besides power grid problems and blackouts that occur in Germany very often now.

  • @claritstv
    @claritstv Před 4 lety

    Wow ! Thank you so much for sharing this Video . This is very informative and interesting . I want to do something to make our World a better place . And i'm ashame for not knowing this before i uploading many non sense videos in my blog. I've learned a lot ! Thank you!

  • @KarolaTea
    @KarolaTea Před 5 lety

    Great video, great subject!

  • @ap0tat0stick39
    @ap0tat0stick39 Před 3 lety

    I really like your videos

  • @jenningszhang3792
    @jenningszhang3792 Před 5 lety

    This video is almost like it is a summary of Mozilla IRL podcast's more recent episode

  • @OBEYmrOSCAR
    @OBEYmrOSCAR Před 5 lety

    I love your videos so so much but you have terrible typography I say that not as an insult tho. Just a one thing that I one day hope you will try harder on. You will always have my support regardless tho 🖤

  • @Otnaifla
    @Otnaifla Před 3 lety

    And the devices to access the internet were produced from a silicon mines and factories which are not enviromental friendly

  • @prasad2897
    @prasad2897 Před 5 lety

    Finally you made this video

  • @JamieCYW
    @JamieCYW Před 5 lety +2

    Watching your videos is like watching a hollywood movie.

    • @willgold3324
      @willgold3324 Před 4 lety

      So it's bad? Ain't most Hollywood movies bad?

  • @jdillabasement
    @jdillabasement Před 3 lety

    Do the servers have their hourly wage cut because of all the tips?

  • @tec4303
    @tec4303 Před 5 lety

    Aren't there way more powerful things you can change to reduce your footprint than managing your internet usage?

  • @psjain126
    @psjain126 Před 5 lety +1

    Internet is not at all sustainable. The major concern is the devices like server , storage, wires. All are made of plastic , semiconductor materials that are carsogenic. Even if we try to recycle it, the need for energy to recycle that material will be huge.
    5G which is going to be a concern for the human mental health and on the environment as well.

  • @destineevargas8524
    @destineevargas8524 Před 5 lety

    That is insane. I have never thought about the sustainability of the internet

    • @stalemateib3600
      @stalemateib3600 Před 5 lety

      Not much to worry about, unless we get another Carrington Event or something (massive EMP event). If we release more CO2, then we will get more greenery. If we go nuclear, then we just need to work on depleted uranium power plants.

    • @birbies
      @birbies Před 5 lety

      @@stalemateib3600 no, thats not how it works. please dont spread misinformation. where are you getting any of that information? co2 causes desertification, which makes landscape completely uninhabitable

    • @stalemateib3600
      @stalemateib3600 Před 5 lety

      @@birbies, you do realize that trees use and thrive off of CO2, right, and that having these and other plants helps keep the soil in place? Obviously, there's an optimal level for these things, but we're actually seeing more greenery in some locations than what we had before. Part of that is due to planting tree campaigns, of course. But there's also the CO2.

  • @xannieeej2755
    @xannieeej2755 Před 4 lety

    Hey! Thanks for sharing! I wondered, are you also sponsored by Apple? Since your laptop says very clearly it is a MacBook Air? Not totally necessary (:

  • @alexng4
    @alexng4 Před 5 lety +1

    Next Video :Is creating CZcams videos to make a profit bad for the environment?

  • @PurpleLemurs
    @PurpleLemurs Před 3 lety

    Yet another reason why CZcams is better than Netflix

  • @NomadDreamer85
    @NomadDreamer85 Před 2 lety

    If CZcams is the "leader", then... yeah... if my choices are to bow to an Orwellian tech company or give up the internet, I'm strongly considering the latter.

  • @bryanalcantarfilms
    @bryanalcantarfilms Před 2 lety

    Fascinating.

  • @dottyman7251
    @dottyman7251 Před 3 lety

    2:55 I thought google used 100% green energy?!??!