We all know that the relationship between the internet and the environment is far from ideal. There is still much to correct and balance, despite the efforts some companies have made to increase the efficiency of their facilities and reduce the overall impact. However, two reports from Imperial College London and Ericsson Mobility present a complex scenario: downloading a gigabyte of data could cause a "water footprint" of 200 liters of water, and within half a decade, that number would be much larger.
The Internet and Water
Online resources teach us to improve the quality of the water we drink, to extract it from unusual places, to reduce its consumption, or to use it as a source of energy. To understand how intertwined the internet is with this vital liquid, we must explore further. The idea of cooling data centers with water is nothing new. Google does it at its fabulous facility in Hamina, while Microsoft's Project Natick aims to place servers directly on the ocean floor. But there is also another kind of "impact", the one generated by each user. In August 2015, the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London published a report on the so-called "water footprint" of data centers, which calculates that each outgoing gigabyte from these centers has a footprint of 200 liters, a number similar to that needed to produce a kilogram of tomatoes.
Now, the study establishes a margin of uncertainty that is too large, as the exact number in the text speaks of "between 1 and 205 liters", but such a gap is caused by the lack of precise assessments and measurements in the facilities. Assuming a position of "hope for the best and prepare for the worst", we find another study shared by Ericsson Mobility, which explores the monthly data consumption per user. Last year, the average was 1.9 GB in the Western European market, while in the United States it rose to 3.7 GB, and 1.2 GB in Latin America. Ericsson's data projection for 2021 speaks of 18 GB per month among European users, 22 GB in the United States, and 7 GB in Latin America.
One thing is certain: the trend of users is not going to change. Video streaming is increasingly demanding, and providers will do everything possible to squeeze this detail to the maximum, but their position is unsustainable over time. Data transfer will increase in volume and will have to reduce its prices. Therefore, the big change must come from the providers, and from those titans that sustain the structure of the internet. Apple, Facebook, and Google have made great strides. Amazon indicates that 40 percent of its energy will be generated from renewable sources before the end of 2016. The idea that an average European mobile session in 2021 will "cost" 3,600 liters of water is worrying, but the experts are not resting on their laurels. The internet can be more efficient, however, first you have to gather all the pieces of the puzzle.
Source: BBC
