ICT Harming Environment

Smartphones and data centers will be the most damaging information and communications technologies to the environment by 2040, warns a new study. For the study, the researchers studied the carbon footprint of consumer devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, desktops as well as data centers and communication networks, Bgr.in reported. Their findings, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, showed ICT has a greater impact on emissions than previously thought and most emissions come from production and operation. “If trends continue, ICT will account for as much as 14% for the total global footprint by 2040,” said Lotfi Belkhir, associate professor at W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology, McMaster University, Canada. “For every text message, for every phone call, every video you upload or download, there’s a data cener making this happen. Telecommunications networks and data centers consume a lot of energy to serve you and most data centers continue to be powered by electricity generated by fossil fuels,” Belkhir added. Trends suggest that by 2020, the most damaging devices to the environment will be smartphones, 85% of whose emissions impact comes from production.