The Internet's Carbon Footprint

By David Gorn on Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

Data center

Whether you’re in a city or the woods, when you fire up your computer and get online, you’re not likely thinking about the environmental impact of the internet. You might be surprised. The server facilities that keep us all connected gobble up nearly two percent of the electricity used in the US. Generating all that power carries a big price tag - in the form of greenhouse gas emissions.

From California's Silicon Valley, KQED's David Gorn reports. Listen to David's story at the Public Radio Exchange

(Photo courtesy penguincakes via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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