I think the term “environmentalism” is concerning, if not just rude. “Saving the planet/whales/rainforest” is not some odd thing you do on the weekend. Birkenstocks are not required and global warming is not a theory. Be a human and look around. We’ve treated this planet like shit.
I’ve written about the startling amount of energy required by ecommerce and its insatiable need for energy. Bitcoin mining alone uses more energy than Argentina
The digital universe though is larger than bitcoin and ecommerce. We generate more data at increasingly enormous levels.
This amount of data, its creation, storage and maintenance requires vast amount of energy. Energy which is fairly damaging to the planet. So until we create sustainable fusion, here’s what we’re looking at: these infographics (god, I LOVE infographics):
In one day, we send 500 billion email messages per day; 26 billion weather requests; 5 billion searches; 3 billion photos on smartphones. Whew. You can see a video here (warning, the narrator is very handsome and charming but definitely needs to watch the Valium intake). He did teach me a new word, though, which is always cool: zettabyte.Â
How Big is a Zettabyte?
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Thanks to Tom Read for a comprehensive article on this subject (highly recommended, long article). Big hat tip to Olivia Zumrano for making the connection.
All infographics courtesy of: Safety Detectives.com