data-centres-and-the-environment

Data centres and the environment – Worksheet

You have 60 minutes including a ten minute break. 4 questions. As a group, decide when in the 60 minutes you want to take your break.

Assign one member of your group as note taker, and another as presenter.

Then, individually, read the following article:

"Why data centres are the new frontier in the fight against climate change" by Charlotte Trueman for Computerworld. Published Aug 9, 2019.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3431148/why-data-centres-are-the-new-frontier-in-the-fight-against-climate-change.html

Discussion questions

After having read the article above, discuss the following questions and keep notes on your answers. Bullet points are fine.

You can keep the notes in a text file, a secret gist, a blank piece of paper, or anywhere else, as long as you'll be able to share it with your teacher when you're done. Add a note also about who is on your team and what topic you're discussing about.

1. Discuss the article. What did you find confusing and/or insightful?

2. Going 'paperless' (digital bills vs paper bills, ebooks vs paper books, etc) is often seen as a 'green' choice. What makes this claim problematic?

3. Who contributes more to carbon emissions through the creation, storage or use of digital data?

   Hint: You may find it useful to think about the following questions:

   • Who is connected to the internet, and who isn't?
   • What devices and apps create data, and who uses them?
   • Who benefits from amassing data?

4. As web developers, what responsibilities might we have in terms of data collection, generation and storage when considering climate change?