FOCUSDirty data: Firms count environmental costs of digital planethome/Opinion/Analysis/Dirty data: Firms count environmental costs of digital planetPARIS: Technology is often touted as a solution to the world’s environmental challenges, but it is also part of the problem: industry executives are facing rising pressure to clean up their energy and resource-intensive business. Around 25 watts per hour, representing 20 grams of carbon dioxide emissions, according to France’s CNRS research center. To cope with the voracious energy needs, the local power company Dominion turned to nonrenewable fuel sources — drawing the ire of tech firms. The Shift Project notes as well that the push for smaller yet more powerful devices makes recycling even more costly. “The energy needed to separate the metals increases as a function of the complexity of the assembly,” it warned.

Source: Manila Times May 18, 2019 15:56 UTC