Don't share that meme: dark data’ held in cloud has huge climate impact
The Guardian|August 10, 2024
The vast majority of data stored in the cloud is "dark data" that is used once then never visited again, researchers have found, meaning some of us may want to consider the environmental impact the next time we send that funny picture or screenshot to a friend or relative.
Helena Horton
Don't share that meme: dark data’ held in cloud has huge climate impact

The findings mean all the memes, jokes and films we love to share - from "All your base are belong to us" to "Ryan Gosling Hey Girl" and "Tim Walz with a piglet" - are sitting in a data centre using up energy. The National Grid predicts data centres will account for just under 6% of Britain's total electricity consumption by 2030, so tackling junk data is an important part of tackling the climate crisis.

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