IT Energy

It is currently impossible to properly compare how sustainable one product is vs another. Pictures of wind farms look nice, but how do you choose which cloud region to deploy (or move) your resources if there is no way to compare them?

My remarks from a panel discussion on data center water consumption: Zero water in our data centers by 2030: mission impossible?

As more applications are run through a web browser, even that is beginning to be streamed from the cloud. Is that the best use of our now highly efficient computers? How energy efficient is application streaming?

My notes on the paper: Syed et al (2021) An Analysis of Renewable Energy Usage by Mobile Data Network Operators. Sustainability. 13 (4), 1886.

My notes on the paper: Bol, D., Pirson, T. & Dekimpe, R. (2021) Moore’s Law and ICT Innovation in the Anthropocene.

Most data center sustainability strategies still focus on renewable energy certificates (RECs). RECs are now considered low quality products because they cannot credibly be used to back claims of 100% renewable energy use

The carbon footprint of a laptop is mostly in the manufacturing. Servers are different, and ARM chips are starting to change the game.

Progress in renewable energy has pushed IT carbon footprints down, revealing how much more work is needed in manufacturing.

It is obvious that Zoom is better for the environment than flying but what about vs driving an EV or public transport? The problem is we can’t be sure.