Doing business online is green. Watching movies, listening to music, or diving into wikipedia is green. Right? There’s less driving around. The internet, however, is growing so rapidly that it is beginning to consume a noticeable fraction of the power generated.
within two years, information technology in general, including manufacturing servers and other gear, is expected to be to account for between seven and 12 percent of all electrical use, according the report.
Your binge watch of every incarnation of Star Trek involves a world wide web of electricity, signal processors, routers, servers, memory – and culminates in your computer and monitor. Each incident isn’t much, but the cumulative effect is enormous, and is becoming one of the largest users of power on the planet. Better than driving to the theater, but significant anyway.
Pretending Not To Panic 