We're always looking to collect data in Some form or another Whether it's trying to get an edge on a Stock or taking pictures of your family So you don't forget precious memories We're always a lookout but all that data Is leading to soaring energy use Yahoo Finance's akiko fujita is here with the Latest installment in our series on Climate change Akiko yeah Brian this is Something that a lot of us I think can Relate to having our smartphones having All that data on it but we don't often Think about the ramifications of that Now whether it's AI or 5g the amount of Data that's created is expected to Increase dramatically over the next Several years that's only going to Exacerbate the challenges that tech Companies already face how to reduce the Carbon footprint of the data centers at A time when demand for those centers is Only going to grow [Music] Think about all of the data you use your Email Facebook photos especially those You haven't touched in 10 years then There's everything on your smartphone Every Netflix show you binge it all Amounts to more than 33 zettabytes That's right zero bytes a number so vast It's roughly 45 times the amount of Grains of sand on the earth and by the Way that's expected to increase fivefold
In the next five years it's dramatic I Mean it's a lot of data created in the Last year year and a half it's more than We've collected a barely over the last 50 years Over the last 50 unbelievable yeah it's Just growing exponentially these data Centers are the cloud that store Everything and it takes a lot of energy To cool these servers without Air-conditioning temperatures can soar To 108 degrees here but all of the Electricity comes at a cost 3% of the world's energy to be exact That means a lot of pollution putting Tech on par with the airline industry in The amount of co2 gas it releases Everything that's happening on the Internet requires some energy to Generate the data to capture the data to Store the data to compute the data to Push the data back out at switch in Las Vegas construction crews haven't stopped Building out its data centers since 2007 It's one of the largest in the world at 3 and 1/2 million square feet as we are Creating and generating more data and we Have more and more need for servers it's Creating a need for more and more power How do you keep these servers cool That's forced them to rethink how they Source energy this location in the Nevada desert is powered by solar panels That generate enough electricity to keep
The lights on in 22,000 homes making Switch 100% renewable But they're not the only ones moving Towards greener solutions Google's using Machine learning to reduce its energy Usage Amazon the largest cloud provider Is investing in wind in solar farms Microsoft's taken its data solutions to Extremes unveiling its first underwater Datacenter powered by tidal energy and Onshore wind turbines but David Cappuccio says those efforts aren't Happening fast enough because the type Of data we collect is becoming more Sophisticated think artificial Intelligence and 5g all those things That make your life easier also come With an environmental cost we're still Doing the old email on the old type Compute but all this new stuff Everything new cars any get some Analytics or machine learning that takes A whole different type of compute uses a Lot more processing power therefore it Generates a lot more energy a lot more Power lot more heat and that complicates The path to a sustainable solution Cappuccio says the responsibility isn't Just on the tech companies anymore Consumers need to educate themselves About their carbon footprint though he Admits reducing that data trail may be The biggest challenge the cheese out of The bottle I mean it's it's how do you
How do you get people to stop using Social media how do you get people to Stop automating more and more of their Homes how do you get people to stop Using Alexa such people are fall in love With technology and what they fall in Love with how easy it is to use it's Almost like turning out tap water now Finds that some of those steps we talked About that companies like Microsoft or Google or Amazon have taken to reduce Her carbon footprint is having an effect Recent study that was published in the Journal Science found that the compute Capacity of data centers grew six fold Between 2018 and 2010 but energy usage Only grew at 6% so relatively that is Fairly stable having said that you heard David Cappuccio from Gartner they're Saying that things are about to change Dramatically because of AI the Internet Of Things in 5g and that means more and More data collection just Aikido I think They ready when you when you think about Sorry guys when you think about you know How much we're using what just you know With all the data you just don't you Don't compute the – right but you talk To so many people throughout this Climate change series I'd like to know Were you particularly impressed with one Company or one place and how they are Combating climate change yeah you know It's tough to single out because this is
Such a vast issue but one of the things That was most glaring to me is what We're seeing on the local level and what Private companies are doing to step up In the absence of leadership on a Federal level national level in many Ways it's kind of the narrative we've Talked about over the last two and a Half months as it relates to the Coronavirus when you look at cities like Miami or places like California they are Having a conversation not just amongst Each other but on a global level to Build out their own template because They feel they just can't wait for sort Of the national leadership to take hold And then you look at a company like a Google or a Microsoft you know we were Talking so much even Prefect kovat about How many companies were stepping up to Say look we're gonna be carbon neutral In the case of Microsoft we're gonna be Carbon negative Those commitments are still in place and That's something that we'll want to look For increasingly as the onus shifts to Sort of the local leaders and private Sector in the absence of leadership all Right Kieko fujita really enjoyed this Series thanks for bringing it to us Hey investors sac Guzman here are you Interested in learning more about the Markets and getting the latest financial News well then click right here to
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