Energy Use and the Internet
It often occurs to me to wonder what the sense is in using the internet for environmental purposes. It's all well to state that the medium saves on paper and increases access to information - but it's important that we not ignore the environmental challenges of the industry.
Today, the international foundation of the internet is an enormous system of interlinking servers. Google alone operates at least 10,000 servers - and estimates suggest that they may operate as many as 100,000. The power consumption at work here is tremendous. The most efficient server at the moment, the Sun T2000 consumes between 240 and 375 watts - most servers consume much more. Extend those numbers to consider world-wide power consumption dedicated to the internet and the mind boggles.
So here I sit, adding to the world's power consumption. Am I really doing good?
I have a friend from childhood who is very dedicated to the philosophy that humanity should return to the fundamental considerations of our needs - food, water and shelter. I can't entirely argue with this philosophy. I feel that the needs of the human species have been subsumed into the desires of the species. The strongest focus of our consumerist culture is to provide more resources to developing what we want.
Yet, I do feel that this is a worthwhile project. Although it does add to the overall use of energy in the world, I hope that I am also making it easier for concerned individuals to locate sustainable resources, alternate energy information, and other knowledge to help compensate for the negative aspects of the internet.
Now, if only somebody could develop a fully sustainable computer!
Updated by Joe Dolson on 24 August, 2009
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