Thus, at any time we can exchange all kinds of digital files through messaging applications or by email, or use our smartphones to, for example, find out what nearby restaurants are like.
However, both sending an image and making an online query implies that this information circulates through networks and servers before reaching its destination, no matter how close it is. Everything that runs on the Web goes to a data center somewhere , and the image of environmental cleanliness associated with this industry and the big tech companies is not real.
To cater for the growing internet traffic, the world's thousands of data centers – most of them in the US – gobble up electricity. The international organization The Climate Group estimates that the information technology sector produces 2% of carbon dioxide emissions and states that it will reach 4% in 2020, with the incorporation of less developed countries into this sector.
One hundred Google searches produce 20 grams of carbon dioxide, and using Gmail for a year generates 1.2 kg per user. Data centers run non-stop, and to anticipate power grid failures they use diesel generators. For this reason, large companies plan to locate them next to renewable energy sources and in cold areas, where the need for server cooling is less.
