Read the full story at ZDNet.
In another bid to make cloud computing eco-friendlier, Google has created a new tool to push customers who are picking their next cloud region towards choosing infrastructure that is more sustainable.
When users browse through their options to manage cloud resources, Google will flag regions that have the lowest carbon impact highlighted with a leaf symbol and a “Lowest CO2” label.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
New research by two leading scientists says some dire warnings of environmental damage from technology are overstated.
Read the full story in Construction Dive.
Bechtel has announced a collaboration with Nautilus Data Technologies to construct data centers that use 70% less power for cooling and don’t consume drinking water, according to a press release shared with Construction Dive.
Nautilus’ Total Resource Usage Effectiveness technology, a closed-water loop coolant system, will keep server racks cool, using less power than traditional air conditioning systems and leading to a 30% net reduction in energy-related carbon dioxide and air pollution, the release said.
The initiative, the partners claim, will help lessen the environmental footprint of data centers and close the “digital divide” by making it easier to build data centers in cities, rural communities and developing areas.
Read the full story at Treehugger.
There were winners and losers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the losers, for example, were movie theaters, which were forced to go dark for more than a year. One of the biggest winners, meanwhile, were streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, which saw a massive influx of business as people everywhere sheltered in place with little to do but binge their favorite TV shows. In fact, subscriptions to streaming services reached the billions for the first time ever during the pandemic, according to the Motion Picture Association, which reported in March 2021 that there were 1.1 billion streaming subscriptions globally, up 26% from March 2020.
Because streaming media relies on the internet, however—and the internet relies on massive data centers with huge environmental footprints—one can’t help but wonder: Is humanity’s appetite for online video harmful to the Earth?
A new study suggests that it isn’t.
Read the full story at Centered.
Magnetostriction is a property of magnetic materials that causes fluorescent lights and electrical transformers to buzz. This property causes the materials to change shape or dimensions as the magnetic field changes.
Magnetostriction also plays a big part in a new material that could lead to more energy-efficient computing. The research team that developed the material is led by the University of Michigan, and researchers from the University of Wisconsin and Purdue University also are participating.
The new material is twice as magnetostrictive and much cheaper than similar materials. It could contribute to magnetostrictive chips, which would cut the energy consumption of a wide range of electronics from cell phones to huge data centers.
Read the full story at TechCrunch.
As the price of bitcoin hits record highs and cryptocurrencies become increasingly mainstream, the industry’s expanding carbon footprint becomes harder to ignore.
Read the full story at edie.
A new global accord has been set up to align the swelling cryptocurrency market with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement by ensuring that blockchain and energy-intensive currency mining systems are powered by renewables and reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
Read the full story from the BBC.
Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, analysis by Cambridge University suggests.
Tue, Apr 6, 2021 2-3 pm CDT
Register here.
Gain insight into energy efficiency from organizations that have prioritized their data centers as an opportunity for savings. As organizations increasingly rely on data centers as mission critical operations, energy efficiency offers opportunities to make meaningful reductions in overall operating costs. These opportunities, experiences implementing projects, and lessons learned may vary across different data center types, whether they be small, co-location, or enterprise.
In this webinar, attendees will hear from Better Buildings partners about their experiences implementing energy efficiency projects within each of these data center types. Learn how you can leverage energy efficiency to streamline operations, cut operating costs, and increase data center resiliency.
Read the full story at MIT Technology Review.
The company’s star ethics researcher highlighted the environmental and financial risks of large language models, which are key to Google’s business.
