Memes, emails are contributing to climate crisis. Say what now!
A study has revealed that the majority of data stored in cloud services, including memes and emails, is "dark data." This term refers to information that is used once and then forgotten. According to the National Grid's forecast for 2030, these data centers storing unused information could account for nearly 6% of the UK's total electricity consumption. The research highlights the need to address this issue as part of broader efforts to combat the climate crisis.
Dark data's environmental impact under scrutiny
Ian Hodgkinson, a Professor of Strategy at Loughborough University, has been investigating the environmental impact of dark data. He found that 68% of data used by companies is never accessed again and believes personal data follows a similar pattern. Hodgkinson stated, "I really started a couple of years ago, it was about trying to understand the negative environmental impact that digital data might have."
The carbon footprint of digital data
Hodgkinson emphasized that every piece of data has a carbon footprint attached to it. "So when we're storing things in the cloud...these data centers are incredibly hot, incredibly noisy, they consume a large amount of energy," he said. He further explained that while one meme or photo won't drastically impact the environment, millions stored and unused do have an effect.
Financial and environmental costs of unused data storage
Hodgkinson pointed out that cloud operators and tech companies profit from users storing more data as it increases their system usage fees. Users are paying for storage they may never use again, leading to significant financial and environmental costs. He warned that we are falling short of meeting the zero emissions target by 2050, due to overlooked contributors like digital data.
Renewable energy insufficient to meet data's power demand
Hodgkinson cautioned that even if we used all the renewable energy in the world, it wouldn't be enough to accommodate the energy data requires in the next one to two years. To curb this data consumption, he suggested sending fewer unnecessary emails and avoiding the 'reply all' button. He stated that every standard email equates to about 4g of carbon, highlighting the need for more mindful digital habits.
