Cloud Data

Every time you save one gigabyte of data to the cloud, you use 3 to 7 kWh of energy. Think about how many people save documents, photos, videos, etc. to the cloud every single day. That energy adds up. But why does it take so much energy? 

When you save a text document to the cloud, 

“[Your] text document is partitioned into a stream of data packets. Its first stop is your Wi-Fi router, and then your cable modem. From there it gets shunted from place to place, taking advantage of network infrastructure like servers, routers, network switches and optical repeaters as it cruises along fiber-optic cables at roughly the speed of light. Soon it enters a huge building. The multi-acre monstrosity contains what seems like endless rows of corn. But there are no vegetables here — the rows consist of huge racks stacked high with hard drives. The building is noisy, with the drone of the ventilation system and the whirring of hard drives. The data center’s final routers send your packets to a server rack, where your document is finally saved to a hard drive” (Adamson, 2017). ​

This process, including the data transfer, storage, and data center cooling, takes a million times (for real) more energy than saving that text document to your computer. Email is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions from the cloud. In fact, the carbon footprint of the emails that the average office worker receives every year is 0.6 metric tonnes (0.66 tons) of CO2 equivalent (Richards, 2018).  Copying ten people on an email you send can multiply its carbon footprint by four. 

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The Challenge
For the next two weeks, take some of the individual actions listed below to reduce your cloud footprint. 

• Transfer and backup your files to an external hard drive.
• Go through the files and emails you have saved on the cloud. 
• Avoid sending unnecessary emails or creating unnecessary files. 
• Compress files when you send them in emails.
• Stream shows and movies in lower resolution.
• Proofread your emails to avoid a follow-up email. 

Sources
Adamson, J. (2017, June 27). Carbon and the Cloud. Retrieved September 05, 2020, from https://medium.com/stanford-magazine/carbon-and-the-cloud-d6f481b79dfe. 
Richards, E. C. (2018, February). The Carbon Cost of an Email. Retrieved September 05, 2020, from https://carbonliteracy.com/the-carbon-cost-of-an-email/. 
Castelet, M. (2019, November 12). Going green: How to Reduce Digital Pollution. Retrieved September 06, 2020, from https://www.welcometothejungle.com/en/articles/how-to-reduce-digital-pollution. ​