Changing your screen from an energy-draining black hole |
Do you ever think of the consequences of watching online videos — beyond what happens to the cat as it made that gravity-defying leap? I’m talking about the data you sucked up as part of your brain died a little.
It crossed my mind as I watched talk-show host Bill Maher interview Erin Brockovich last weekend about her new advocacy target. After her legal work on compensating victims of industrial water pollution, she is now focused on big data centres. I almost tuned out until Maher made a brilliant point.
No one wants these centres using much-needed energy and water near their homes.
At the same time, we are all stupidly addicted to cellphones and their mind-numbing apps. And we’re eating up more data than ever.
That thought inspired me to look up some numbers:
An online video uses about 0.7 to 1 gigabytes (GB) per hour, rising to........