Data Centers’ Impact on Climate Change May Be Overblown, New Study Suggests
Researchers argue that new technology and greater efficiency could offset energy demands
The climate impact of the data centers that host the internet might be overstated, a new paper argues.
For those who spend much of their lives online and care about the future of life on Earth, one of the most alarming realities of the digital age is the climate impact of data centers, giant computing factories that host the web and serve as clearinghouses for internet traffic. Some experts have projected that the energy needs of data centers, which already account for about 1% of global electricity production, will skyrocket in the coming years, thanks to our insatiable appetite for online videos, cloud storage, music streaming, and more.
But other scientists think the narrative of heat death by server farm is overblown, and they’re pushing back in a new perspective paper published in Science. These researchers say that dramatic improvements in the efficiency of data centers have kept their power demands in check over the past decade and that there’s room for more efficiency gains in the future. Some question this conclusion, claiming that the data behind it is spotty and that gains in efficiency won’t match the rise of…
