That's a really interesting question to pose. Two thoughts immediately
spring to mind:
Having been in the large data-centres of some major ISPs, I've been
witness to the sheer volume of air-conditioning that server farms need;
this has to contribute massively to the negative environmental impact of
the internet.
But we also need to consider the positive impact; for example, how many
people can/do work from home because of the availability of the internet
(potentially saving on transport emissions, office space, maybe the
waste from a packaged lunch, etc.)
I'd certainly be interested in continuing this discussion (off-list?
Maybe a google group?)
Dan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Matthew Cock
> Sent: 14 February 2007 09:13
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: A greener internet?
>
> All,
>
>
>
> I was thinking about how a museum might make its activities more
> sustainable, in terms of reducing its carbon footprint, etc. And then
I
> got to thinking about the museum's website (as is my job) and the
> internet in general. On a large scale, how much energy does the
internet
> use up? Is anyone aware of any figures? On a local scale, we could
> evaluate the energy used up by the servers hosting our site, and the
PCs
> and infrastructure inside our Museum. But how far could we decrease
> these (I'm not going to even mention 'off-setting' as an option), even
> as we aim to increase our site visits, and ensure good bandwidth and
> zero downtime? We increasingly demand that our websites are
accessible,
> and require of 3rd parties that they help us to achieve that - is
there
> a place for requirements that our ISPs use renewable sources of
energy?
> Just one thought. Anyway - if anyone else has any thoughts on this,
I'd
> be really interested, and perhaps we can start a discussion. I have
done
> a few searches on Google, but nothing has jumped out at me as a major
> movement to a greener internet.
>
>
>
> Oh, and a happy Valentine's Day to all MCG members.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Matthew
>
> Head of Web | Department of Learning and Information | The British
> Museum | www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
<http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/>
>
> tel: 020 7323 8169 | work mobile: 07971 433841
>
> --
>
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