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Large data centers consume up to 5 million gallons of water each day-a figure equivalent to the daily usage of a town with 10,000 to 50,000 residents-and the U.K. government asked citizens last summer to delete old digital files to lessen the strain on these resources.
why Your Digital Clutter Matters
Table of Contents
Every email, photo, and video stored in the cloud has an environmental cost.
- Storing digital data requires significant energy, impacting both electricity consumption and water usage.
- The energy needed to store just 1 terabyte of data can range from 40 to 300 kilowatt-hours annually.
- The manufacturing of tech devices has a larger carbon footprint then their daily energy use.
- Reducing digital clutter and extending the lifespan of devices are key steps toward a more sustainable digital lifestyle.
We live in a digital age where creating and storing data is effortless. But this convenience comes at a cost. The cloud isn’t some ethereal, weightless space; it’s a network of physical data centers that require vast amounts of energy and water to operate. The more data we collectively store, the greater the environmental impact.
A significant portion of this impact stems from the principle of redundancy, meaning multiple copies of your data are stored, further increasing resource consumption. Storing those blurry photos and unwanted emails-for everyone-indefinitely requires a continuous input of resources.
The Energy Cost of Storage
The amount of energy required to store 1 terabyte of data-roughly the storage capacity of four 256-gigabyte laptops-ranges from 40 kWh to 300 kWh annually, according to estimates from the past couple of years.For outlook, 60 kWh is equivalent to charging a smartphone every night for over six years.
The impact extends beyond electricity. Large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day, mirroring the daily usage of a town with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 people.
It was in response to these environmental concerns that the U.K. government, amid a drought last summer, requested that people delete unwanted photos, outdated screenshots, and unopened junk emails to alleviate the burden on data centers and, consequently, the environment.
Small Steps, Big Impact
Digital decluttering doesn’t have to be a monumental task. Incorporating small actions into your routine-like deleting old photos during your Monday commute or cleaning out your inbox after chores-can make the process manageable. Even dedicating just five minutes each day can yield results.
Establishing a regular habit, such as scheduling a monthly digital decluttering session, can make the task feel less daunting over time.
beyond Deletion: The Bigger Picture
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when considering your online carbon footprint,and pinpointing its exact size can be challenging. Estimates of carbon dioxide emissions vary depending on the task. Sending and receiving an email, for example, can generate anywhere from 0.03g to 26g of carbon, depending on its length and the number of recipients, according to Mike Berners-Lee, author of How Bad are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything, published in 2020.
However, Berners-Lee notes that technological advancements have improved efficiency since then, making the impact of individual tasks “infinitesimal.”
Surprisingly, the largest carbon impact associated with our tech use comes not from daily operation, but from the manufacturing of the devices themselves. “A bigger part is the embodied carbon in the manufacturer of the [product] that we’re using at our end,which actually is a bigger deal than the energy that our computer or our smartphone will use throughout its lifetime,” he notes.
Thus, being intentional about purchasing new devices and maximizing their lifespan is crucial. “Buy fewer physical products, make them last,”
