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Can the internet ever be green?

Data is driving a new industrial revolution globally, and it is growing exponentially. But what damage is it doing to the climate?

The big tech firms of the world have reported record profits during lockdown. These firms are some of the industrial titans of the digital age.

Their ability to manipulate vast quantities of data is revolutionising, well, everything. From streaming games and movies, to automating mining operations, controlling medical devices and even simple emails, the internet has brought incredible advances right across the globe.

But we now know that previous industrial revolutions placed a huge burden on the planet. Our climate question this week is: Will this one be any different?

Facebook has pledged to use only renewable energy by the end of 2020, not 2030, as we stated in the programme.

Guests:

Dr Rabih Bashroush - IT infrastructure expert, The Uptime Institute
Dr Stephanie Hare - Author and tech researcher
Mats Lewan - Tech reporter, Stockholm

Presented by Graihagh Jackson and Neal Razzell
Produced by Jordan Dunbar
Researched by Soila Apparicio
Edited by Emma Rippon

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Mon 8 Feb 2021 21:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 8 Feb 2021 04:06GMT
  • Mon 8 Feb 2021 09:06GMT
  • Mon 8 Feb 2021 13:32GMT
  • Mon 8 Feb 2021 20:06GMT
  • Mon 8 Feb 2021 21:06GMT

Podcast