We’ve been thinking about the possible costs of files we leave orphaned up in our online storage. Someone pays to maintain it up in the cloud, on a computer in the sky somewhere. What impacts do all the resources going to maintain the files we never go back to access have on the environment?

First, when we talk about cloud computing, we have in mind services similar to:

• Google Drive
• Microsoft 360
• Dropbox
• Netflix (to name a few)

It’s a long list, and we aren’t even getting into video storage and streaming.

In research conducted by MIT, Perdue, and Yale, streaming video makes an impact on the environment in terms of land usage, carbon emissions, and water usage. Turning your video off during a web meeting reduces your environmental impact by 96%.

“To store and transmit all of the data powering the internet, data centers consume enough electricity to account for 1 percent of global energy demand — which is more than the total consumption for many countries”

Reduce the Environmental Impact of your Next Virtual Meeting

Additional reading on the topic and studies by Microsoft and Google are linked below. 

There’s also a link to the Arctic Circle Data Center (ACDC) in development, Kolos, which appears to still be raising capital. Their aim is for more sustainable data storage.

This article, above, states that digital technologies might seem like less of an impact but they are responsible for 4% of global CO2 emissions. Organizations like MightyBytes attempt to steer companies toward more sustainable solutions.

The Cloud isn’t Inherently More Sustainable

Lucivero, F. Big Data, Big Waste? A Reflection on the Environmental Sustainability of Big Data Initiatives. Sci Eng Ethics 26, 1009–1030 (2020).

Google is messaging about this as well

The Environmental Impact of Keeping Files Online

So what do we do about it? Check out the Digital Cleanup Day website to learn more about how people are creating mindful practices with their digital assets.