While many of us are aware that following a plant-based diet or reducing our dependence on cars can significantly reduce our carbon footprint, many are unaware that internet consumption also generates CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) that affects the planet.

Thirty minutes of video streaming emits between 28 and 57 g of CO2e while watching a 10-hour series on Netflix It uses the same energy as charging a smartphone 145 times.

So what does this mean? Should we stop using the internet for the sake of a greener planet?

While the answer to this is complex and not exactly simple, it's essential to explore the problem first. Only then we will be able to discover the current solutions availableincluding what our hosting provider is doing to combat it.

Data centers are the real culprits

In the end, it all comes down to data. Data centers, to be exact.

This means that every webpage you open, song you download, or video you watch consists of data. Contrary to popular belief, this data doesn't exist on its own. It has to be produced, hosted, and made available to everyone through something called a "website."data center»Or«data processing unit«.

A data center simply refers to a large facility with dedicated space, data communication lines, power supplies, and backup systems. Studies show that some of the world's largest data centers can house tens of thousands of IT devices, requiring more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power capacity. This is enough to supply about 80.000 homes in U.S.

While most companies typically don't disclose the locations of their data centers for privacy reasons, it's widely accepted that data centers are responsible for nearly 30% of the internet's energy requirements. And according to The New York Times , Most data centers consume incredible amounts of energy in a very wasteful way. This means that companies continue to operate their facilities at full capacity, regardless of demand or time of day. This can result in data centers wasting 90% or more of the electricity they draw from the grid. power grid .

Why do we need a green internet?

Thanks to the high-bandwidth services of Netflix, Facebook , YouTube and the gaming companies Activation Blizzard y Epic Games , Internet traffic growth is now off the charts, with up to 80% of data capacity going to these aforementioned players. .

In the case of YouTube, a 2016 study conducted by the University of Bristol He calculated that streaming video to 1.400 billion users produced more than 11 million tons of CO2 per year, similar to Frankfurt, Germany, or Glasgow, Scotland. And given that YouTube currently has over 2400 billion users worldwide This carbon footprint is undoubtedly larger.

However, it is worth noting that the broadcasting and television industries contribute far less than others. For example, Heating a bag of popcorn in the microwave for 4 minutes produces approximately 30% of the carbon emissions generated by watching one hour of streamed content. .

What can be done to make the internet green?

The desire to transition to a greener internet is nothing new. The project was carried out from 2010 to 2013. ECONET (low Energy Consumption NETworks)This project, which was co-financed by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, aimed to study and exploit dynamic adaptive technologies for wired network devices that would allow energy savings when a device (or part of it) was not in use.

And now that the European Green Deal of the European Commission And several large international companies claim that their facilities and entire product portfolios will be climate neutral by 2050; this demonstrates how much companies believe in the need to intensify their sustainability measures and actively participate in reducing their global environmental impact.

Facebook and Google, for example, are two companies that supposedly already do this by using redesigned software and cooling systems to reduce energy waste. Even so, according to recent reports, Google's data centers consume nearly 300 million watts, and Facebook's, about 60 million watts. .

Some industry experts They recommend using new, direct, low-impact liquid cooling systems to limit the active movement of air over the servers, which would eliminate the need to cool the entire data room, which in turn would reduce energy consumption and costs.

Traditional data centers also rely on incredible amounts of water. Did you know that a A typical data center uses around 3 to 5 million gallons of water per day equivalent to the water supply of a city with 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants? Simply replacing these evaporative water cooling systems with innovative closed-loop systems that use recycled water instead of fresh water would help reduce this immense burden on local water systems.

Others believe the greenest solution lies in the cloud, which means centralized computing across data centers. This simply means that data centers would rely on virtualization technology, where servers merge their identities into vast, flexible computing resources that can be distributed as needed to users, regardless of their location. To learn more about cloud computing, Check out one of our detailed articles on this same topic.

Whether by donating dedicated servers previously used by non-profit organizations or participating in environmental initiatives such as tree planting with Team Trees Namecheap, as a company, is aware that the world is changing at an accelerated pace and that sustainability must be at the forefront.

That's why that some of our hosting plans They now have an EU data center located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which uses 100% renewable electricity. This data center not only has with ISO 140001 certification e ISO 50001 but their provider is also part of The Climate Pledge™, which is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. These particular plans also feature cloud storage, which offers zero downtime, true stability, and the highest performance. 

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the internet has brought about positive change and improved the lives of many people worldwide. But we cannot pretend that the future of our planet is not at risk if we do not adopt greener and more sustainable systems.

Like many companies, Selfish It is an agency committed to becoming 100% renewable..

Even if data is considered the fuel of the internet, everything comes at a cost, so it's time we, as consumers, start asking critical questions about how the products and services we actively consume are produced and delivered. Only through a more conscious approach to connectivity can we achieve our greener goals, which include green data.