Fernando Thompson de la Rosa
Very few know about green technology or clean technology, technology used without harming the environment, application of environmental science to protect natural environment and resources and control the negative impacts of human involvement.
Climate change is the worst disaster facing humanity in the near future, worse than the coronavirus pandemic, as it will bring drought to much of the world in addition to natural disasters.
But what should tech companies do about all this?
All electronic devices, including laptops, cell phones, and computers, take up to 4,000 years to degrade.
That is, apart from the time they decompose, they contain a dangerous mixture of polluting elements, from glass (screens) to plastic and batteries that are very harmful to soil, soil and water.
Another less talked about example is cryptocurrency mining, companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft use more electricity than 159 countries, we're talking about 121.36 terawatt hours per year, which is a monstrous amount.
Social networking site Meta or Facebook is one of the most used in the world. Facebook is estimated to emit 980 thousand tons of CO2 per year.
But in addition, even though companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon have global recognition as green or ecologically responsible companies and donate to fight climate change, they turn out to be drivers of pollution because they provide technology. Artificial intelligence so that oil companies can find new reserves, find and collect oil faster, lowers the cost per barrel, which means more polluting fossil fuels.
For yourself, dear reader, every time you visit a web page or open an app, you emit approximately 1.76 grams of CO2; Therefore, each person's activity on average emits 211 kg of CO2 every year.
So, if there are 5,350 million Internet users in the world, when we do a simple multiplication, we are polluting the atmosphere with billions of toxic gases created by the electricity consumed.
We have to add the amount of water that is polluted and used to cool the computer centers.
And technical junk? Well, as already mentioned, a simple device takes 4 thousand years to biodegrade.
So we must be aware of this serious problem when we use our smartphones, tablets and computers and think that every time you watch a video on YouTube, your email or Facebook you are contributing to climate change due to environmental pollution.
What is fundamentally sought in green computing is that it is sustainable and imperative, through reuse, recycling and moderation, we focus on conserving natural resources and energy efficiency, reducing pollution.
In short, reduce environmental impact.
Today, there are already countries that ban computer centers dedicated to cryptocurrency mining, probably because of the water consumption needed to cool the equipment; However, emerging technological trends such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing must also be reviewed before they further destroy our world by polluting it.
We have only one beautiful planet and each of us must do our part to solve it and the tech companies know the seriousness of the problem and very soon they will start taking responsibility in this matter.
During today's campaign we will demand that our candidates study this issue and come up with proposals aimed at protecting the environment.
