How Much Energy Does the Internet Use? | Hot Mess 🌎

Summary

The video explores the energy usage and climate impact of the internet, which is powered by billions of devices and data centers consuming around 5% of global electricity. Despite contributing only 2% of global emissions, the internet facilitates more efficient practices like telecommuting and reducing physical goods. It also promotes sustainability through digital alternatives and innovations like AI-optimized cooling in data centers.

Takeaways

• 🌐 About half the world's population has internet access, totaling around 3.6 billion people.
• 🔌 The internet, including devices and data centers, consumes approximately 5% of the world's electricity.
• 💻 The energy usage of individual devices like smartphones and laptops is relatively low, but the collective impact is significant.
• 🌍 Data centers are a major consumer of energy, accounting for 1-2% of global electricity usage.
• 🌿 The internet's overall contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is around 2%, which is less than other sectors like transportation.
• 📈 The growth in energy use by the internet has been slow compared to the increase in users and devices, due to improvements in efficiency.
• 🚚 The internet facilitates better coordination, reducing unnecessary shipping and waste in manufacturing and logistics.
• 📚 Digital alternatives to physical items like CDs, DVDs, and newspapers produce fewer emissions.
• 🏡 Telecommuting and efficient navigation apps reduce travel and related emissions.
• 🤖 AI and technology advancements are helping to make data centers more energy-efficient, such as Google's 15% reduction in electricity usage.
• 🔄 The internet's impact on climate is complex; while it uses energy, it also enables more climate-friendly behaviors.

Q & A

How many people have internet access worldwide?

Approximately half the world's population has internet access, which is around 3.6 billion people.

What percentage of the world's electricity is estimated to be used by internet-connected devices?

Internet-connected devices are estimated to use around 5% of the world's electricity.

What are the main components that make up 'the internet'?

The internet is made up of wires traversing the oceans, satellites, cell-phone towers, massive data centers, and a multitude of devices.

How many devices are currently connected to the internet?

There are more than 30 billion devices connected to the internet, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, credit card readers, smart speakers, and smart appliances.

What is the second biggest energy consumer in the internet infrastructure after devices?

Data centers are the second biggest energy consumer in the internet infrastructure, using around 1 to 2% of the world's total electricity.

What is the source of most of the electricity used by data centers?

Most of the electricity used by data centers comes from burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

How does the internet's contribution to global emissions compare to other sectors?

The internet contributes only around 2% of global emissions, which is less compared to sectors like transportation that cause almost a quarter of global emissions.

How has the internet helped to reduce physical waste?

The internet has helped to reduce the production of physical items like CDs, DVDs, newspapers, snail mail, and textbooks by providing digital alternatives.

What is one example of how the internet has improved energy efficiency?

Google has used artificial intelligence to better cool its data centers, resulting in a 15% reduction in electricity usage.

How does telecommuting help reduce emissions?

Telecommuting reduces the need for travel, thereby cutting down on transportation emissions.

What is the overall impact of the internet on the climate according to the script?

The overall impact of the internet on the climate is somewhere in the middle. While it uses energy, many activities enabled by the internet are more climate-friendly than their non-digital counterparts.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Internet's Energy Consumption

The script discusses the energy usage of the internet, which is utilized by approximately 3.6 billion people globally. It highlights the various components of the internet, including undersea cables, satellites, cell towers, data centers, and billions of devices. The energy consumption of these devices is significant, accounting for about 5% of the world's electricity. Data centers, in particular, consume 1-2% of global electricity, primarily from fossil fuels. Despite this, the internet's contribution to global emissions is only around 2%, which is less compared to sectors like transportation. The script also points out that the internet's growth in energy use has been slow due to increased efficiency in hardware, software, and data centers.

Keywords

💡Internet Access

Internet access refers to the ability to connect to the internet, which is a global network that connects devices and allows for the sharing of information. In the video, it is mentioned that about half the world's population has internet access, which translates to 3.6 billion people. This is significant because it highlights the scale at which the internet operates and the potential environmental impact due to the energy consumption of such a large user base.

💡Energy Consumption

Energy consumption refers to the amount of energy used by devices or systems over a certain period. The video discusses the energy used by internet-connected devices, which is estimated to be around 5% of the world's electricity. This keyword is central to the video's theme as it explores the environmental implications of our online activities.

💡Data Centers

Data centers are large facilities that house servers used to store and process data. They play a crucial role in the internet's infrastructure. The video mentions that data centers are the second largest consumers of energy in the internet's ecosystem, using around 1-2% of the world's total electricity. This highlights the significant energy footprint of these facilities and their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

💡Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that trap heat, contributing to global warming. The video points out that most of the electricity used by data centers comes from burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This keyword is essential to understanding the environmental impact of the internet and the urgency of finding cleaner energy sources.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency, in the context of the video, refers to the ratio of useful work performed to the energy consumed. The script notes that hardware, software, and data centers have become more energy efficient over time, which has slowed the growth of energy use by the internet. This concept is key to understanding how technological advancements can mitigate the environmental impact of the internet.

💡Telecommuting

Telecommuting is the practice of working from home or another remote location, facilitated by the internet. The video suggests that telecommuting can reduce travel, which in turn cuts down on emissions from transportation. This keyword is relevant to the video's message about how the internet can be used to reduce our carbon footprint.

💡Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The video gives an example of Google using AI to improve the cooling efficiency of its data centers, resulting in a 15% reduction in electricity usage. This keyword illustrates how technology can be leveraged to make the internet more environmentally friendly.

💡Sustainable Practices

Sustainable practices are methods or techniques that are designed to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The video discusses how the internet helps avoid producing physical items like CDs, DVDs, and newspapers, which are more emissions-intensive than their digital counterparts. This keyword is central to the video's argument that the internet can promote sustainability.

💡Digital Counterparts

Digital counterparts refer to digital versions of physical items or services. The video contrasts physical items like newspapers with their digital counterparts, such as online news platforms, which have a lower environmental impact. This keyword is used to emphasize the environmental benefits of digitalization.

💡Carbon Neutral

Carbon neutral refers to a state where the net total of carbon dioxide emissions is zero. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to support making the show carbon neutral by contributing through Patreon. This keyword is relevant as it ties into the broader theme of reducing the environmental impact of our activities, including internet usage.

💡Global Emissions

Global emissions refer to the total amount of greenhouse gases released into the Earth's atmosphere worldwide. The video compares the internet's contribution to global emissions (around 2%) with that of transportation (almost a quarter). This keyword is important for understanding the relative environmental impact of different sectors and how the internet fares in comparison.

Highlights

Half the world has internet access, serving 3.6 billion people.

The internet's energy consumption and its impact on climate are significant concerns.

Devices like Alexa are part of a vast network consuming energy.

The internet is a complex system including wires, satellites, data centers, and billions of devices.

There are over 30 billion internet-connected devices globally.

Each device requires electricity, contributing to the internet's energy use.

Internet-connected devices are estimated to use around 5% of the world's electricity.

Data centers are the second largest energy consumers after devices, using 1-2% of global electricity.

Most electricity for data centers comes from fossil fuels, releasing greenhouse gases.

The internet contributes only about 2% of global emissions.

Energy use by the internet has increased slowly despite the growth in users and devices.

The internet has become more energy efficient through improvements in hardware, software, and data centers.

The internet enables more efficient communication, reducing the need for physical items and waste.

Telecommuting and digital maps reduce emissions by cutting down on travel.

Google used AI to optimize data center cooling, reducing electricity use by 15%.

The overall impact of the internet on climate is a mix of positive and negative effects.

Using the internet for good, such as supporting carbon-neutral initiatives, can help mitigate its climate impact.

Supporting Hot Mess on Patreon can contribute to making the show carbon neutral.

Subscribing and notifications are encouraged for staying updated with new videos.

Transcripts

About half the world has internet access.

That’s 3.6 billion people surfing the web.

How much energy is that using?

And what is our online world doing to our planet’s climate?

Hey Alexa, how much electricity do you use?

“Hmm I’m not sure” No worries, that’s what we’re here for.

[OPEN]

Hey!

I’m Miriam, and we need to talk about your internet habits.

The internet is pretty great - this wouldn’t be a thing without it.

But getting this video and all the other bits of the internet to you uses a lot of energy.

What we call ‘the internet’ is made up of a lot of things: wires traversing the oceans,

satellites and cell-phone towers, massive data centers sending packets of information

all over, and devices.

SO MANY DEVICES.

Today, there’s more than 30 billion things connected to the internet - that’s every

cell phone, laptop, and tablet, but also every credit card reader, creepy all-hearing speaker,

newfangled fridge with a TV on the front, and more things coming online every day.

Every single one of these devices requires electricity.

Charging a single phone or a laptop doesn’t use that much energy, but powering billions

of internet-connected devices adds up.

It’s hard to estimate exactly how much, because things are changing too fast to even

count, but in total, internet-connected devices probably use in the neighborhood of 5% of

the world’s electricity.

Once you’ve got your internet portal charged and ready to go, streaming a video or posting

a pic on Instagram draws on power from data centers distributed around the world.

After devices, data centers are the internet’s next biggest energy hog, using around 1 or

2% of the world’s total electricity.

And most of this electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases

into the atmosphere.

But when compared to all the other things that produce greenhouse gases, like transportation,

which causes almost a quarter of global emissions, the internet is doing alright - in total,

it contributes only around 2% of global emissions.

And, compared to the speed with which more people are coming online worldwide, and the

rapid growth of connected devices, energy use by the internet has increased pretty slowly,

because our hardware, software, and data centers have become more energy efficient.

But the internet does a whole lot more than just use energy.

I mean, it’s changed nearly every aspect of life, and being able to communicate with

each other so quickly lets us do lots of things that are good for the climate.

Manufacturers and warehouses can coordinate better with stores to avoid unnecessary shipping

and reduce waste.

In fact, the internet helps us avoid producing a lot of physical things in the first place,

like CDs, DVDs, newspapers, snail mail, and textbooks.

Even when we make these as sustainably as possible, they still create more emissions

than their digital counterparts.

And then there’s telecommuting [Miriam’s face on computer], which cuts down on travel.

And maps on our phones, which reduce how long we spend driving around lost.

The internet can even make itself more efficient; using artificial intelligence, Google figured

out how to better cool its data centers, which ended up using 15% less electricity.

So is the overall impact of the internet on the climate good or bad?

Maybe the real answer is it's somewhere in the middle.

Everything we do on the internet uses energy, which, yeah, still mostly comes from burning

fossil fuels - but a lot of the things we can do because of the internet are better

for the climate than their analog alternatives.

So, don't feel too bad about using the internet, just, try to use it for good.

Like, by supporting Hot Mess on Patreon, where you can give a few dollars a month to help

us make Hot Mess a carbon neutral YouTube channel, and help us keep making the show.

Join us at patreon.com/hotmessPBS.

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