Computing costs and waste heat
cloud computing
Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services, including storage, processing power, and applications, over the internet. In using our laptops/tablets/smartphones, we unknowingly engage with cloud computing everyday as the companies and developers of applications we use leverage cloud infrastructure services!
iCloud
The Apple ecosystem utilizes iCloud for data storage.
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft interfaces like Outlook, Office integrate OneDrive as a storage option.
Samsung Cloud
Samsung produced Android devices offer Samsung Cloud for data storage.
Dropbox
Dropbox is an accessible, free to use a file hosting service and data storage platform
Google Drive
Google produced devices and Gmail clients have access to Google Drive for storage.
Cloud infrastructure
You've likely heard of "the cloud" in reference to the storage of data, like photos and documents. Whenever data is uploaded, downloaded, or accessed from the cloud, computational resources are utilized for data transfer and processing. This includes operations like encryption, decryption, and indexing. Certain applications, particularly those with advanced features such as video editing, graphics-intensive games, and augmented reality apps, demand significant computational power. Even background processes providing notifications, updates, or location-based services, depend on these services. In the realm of e-commerce, too, transaction processing involves computational resources for secure payment processing, order tracking, inventory management, and security measures like data encryption.
The efficient functioning of services like, for example, your iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos, and iCloud Backup, or any of your favorite apps relies on a robust infrastructure of servers. It wouldn't be economical or possible for each site or application to operate their own servers, however, so they depend on infrastructure established by larger enterprise-scale cloud platforms. The largest of these are the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud.
These (and other) companies operate an extensive network of data centers worldwide which house numerous servers and hardware that work together to handle the computational requirements of various cloud services. These servers operate continuously to ensure uninterrupted services to everything from your Netflix queue to government operations.
Google Cloud Platform
Clients: Snapchat, Youtube, Spotify, Wix, Apple*
Microsoft Azure
Clients: Uber, Xbox, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Adobe*
Amazon Web Services
Clients: Netflix, Twitter, Tinder, Twitch, Apple*, Airbnb*, Adobe*
oracle cloud
Clients: Tiktok, Zoom, Bank of America, Airbnb*
*some applications need and use multiple platforms!
Data Centers Globally
Google Cloud Platform
Amazon Web Services
Microsoft Azure
Oracle Cloud
Raw data: TeleGeography, 2023
Map generated via MapHub
waste heat
The operation of these servers generates considerable heat, but maintaining an optimal temperature is crucial for their efficient functioning and preventing hardware issues due to overheating. Therefore data centers require extensive cooling systems, such as specialized air conditioning and cooling infrastructure to dissipate the heat generated by continuous server operation. These systems contribute significantly to the overall energy consumption of data centers. The energy used for cooling contributes to the environmental impact and the nonmaterial waste generated by the operation of these facilities.
The increasing demand for cloud services has led to a growing need for data storage capacity. This demand, in turn, has required more server hosting and data centers to be built, further intensifying the environmental impact our tech use. The production and maintenance of these servers that most of us interface with in nonmaterial ways contributes to material resource depletion, energy consumption, and worsening of the e-waste problem. The environmental footprint of operating smartphones, tablets, and laptops, though different and arguably smaller than that of producing the devices, is an important factor in e-waste generation.