Negative Environmental Aspects of Cloud Computing

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What are potential negative aspects of cloud computing in terms of environmental implications?

See also: Cloud Computing Sustainability

Carbon Emissions

Data centers require a lot of energy. Despite the claims of the hyperscalers to be climate neutral or to be carbon negative in the near future, a large proportion of energy is still generated using fossil fuels.

Water

To ensure a good PUE, hyperscalers (especially Google) use large quantities of water for cooling, which causes other environmental problems.

See also Water consumption of data centers.

Waste

Heat

Waste heat is usually not used sensibly. Leafcloud, for example, does better by using existing buildings and putting the waste heat to good use on site.

E-Waste

The service life of IT components in hyperscalers is comparatively short at 3-5 years. At Scaleway, for example, IT components are used for up to 10 years.

Rebound Effect

The easy accessibility of (infinite) cloud resources ensures that more is used overall.

See also Digital Rebound Effect.

Support of oil and gas companies

Cloud Computing Companies - Contracts with oil and gas companies

🔗 References

World Wide Waste (Gerry McGovern)