Digital pollution: ways to limit its impact

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simarahman5835
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Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2024 4:17 am

Digital pollution: ways to limit its impact

Post by simarahman5835 »

It is invisible and yet it exists. Digital pollution is not a myth. Indeed, digital represents about 2% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions! That is the equivalent of the GHG emissions from civil aviation. And if we do not act quickly, digital pollution could be as significant as automobile pollution by 2025.

In my daily life, all my actions are thought out in terms of their impact on the planet. But I spend 90% of my days on my computer and the internet to create content . This is my biggest contradiction because I also participate in this pollution caused by digital technology. The subject is vast and complex. This article will not give you miracle solutions to reduce your impact. But I wanted to open the debate and offer you avenues for reflection and improvement . And who knows, maybe we can build solutions together.

What produces digital pollution?
There are many factors that come into play when talking about digital pollution. However, it is possible to name 3 main sources of GHG emissions.

The manufacture of digital tools
And yes, the first source of digital pollution comes from our tools themselves . To make a computer, a mobile phone or a tablet, it is necessary to use several rare metals (graphite, indium, cobalt among others). The extraction of these natural resources is a real ecological disaster . Indeed, in very small quantities in the rock, these rare metals are hong kong whatsapp difficult to separate and they will require the use of chemical solvents released into nature. In China (where most rare metals are extracted) 80% of underground well water cannot be consumed because of this toxic waste released into the rivers.

And our digital tools are not recycled because recycling rare metals is more financially expensive than extraction. So, to generate ever more profits, why bother recycling?There are approximately 8.5 million of them in the world, including 156 in France. In 2016, all data centers consumed 416 TWh of electricity . For comparison, Switzerland only used 58 TWh that year. By using fossil energy to power these huge data banks, data centers will inevitably release CO2 into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. But that's not all! While operating, these large machines heat up. They therefore need to be cooled by air conditioners. Which do not help climate change at all since the hot air is released outside. A beautiful vicious circle.

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In France, the 156 data centers consume 10% of the country's electricity ! Fortunately, some digital giants like Apple and Google have committed to using clean energy. For example, iTunes (Apple) servers run on 83% renewable energy and those of YouTube (Google) run on 53% clean energy . Other companies, like InfoManiak, which we will talk about later, want to use the heat released by their data centers to heat homes. A way to renew the energy used by digital technology!
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