The global IT industry has been identified as an ecological villain and a major polluter, in contrast to its traditional image of being a "clean" industry.
According to industry estimates, IT data centres, with their vast computer banks, worldwide use about 30 billion watts of electricity, equivalent to the output of 30 nuclear power plants. However, research carried out by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company shows that, on average, they use only 6 to 12 per cent of the energy powering their computers to perform computations.
The rest is essentially used to keep the computers idling and ready in case of a crash. It has been estimated that a single IT industry data centre can consume as much power as a medium-sized town in the United States.
The legislature in countries such as the US is also showing concern that manufacturers of devices such as smartphones are increasingly reliant on rare metals too often sourced from mines with deplorable working conditions.
Warren Wilson, a lead analyst for the international research company Ovum, says it is "no secret" in the industry that much energy is wasted. "There is a close correlation between energy consumed and carbon emitted."
But so great is the power consumption of IT service providers as they move increasingly to remote hosted IT services, known as cloud computing, that they are now starting to invest in new ways of reducing the power consumption of their vast data banks.
"One of the biggest initiatives in the technology industry is the effort to get energy usage down. Not so much to be green or to avoid regulation, but because it is limiting adoption and sales," says Rob Enderle, the principal analyst at Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
Hewlett-Packard "has gone so far as to develop a massive alternative energy programme looking at unusual generation like harnessing methane gas from dairies, for instance". Google is investing "massively" in solar and wind power, he adds.
But many of the data centres gobbling up energy are run by private companies in other sectors outside Silicon Valley that have little incentive to change their ways.
Mr Wilson believes that one solution is for data centres to be located in temperate climates in buildings designed to be cooled naturally by simply opening the windows.
But many organisations with their computer servers located in the heart of existing sealed building have shown themselves unwilling to shoulder the expense of relocating them into more ecologically sound facilities. However, some sectors may yet be forced to reassess their IT energy expenditure.
"The financial services sector, for example, has become increasingly IT-dependent to an extent where its energy bills are great enough to be significant," says Mr Wilson.
But he adds that most companies are more concerned about the sums they are spending on energy consumption and that most consumers do not give a first or second thought to the levels of power consumption needed to power the online services provided by companies such as Google and Facebook.
As most governments are driven by the political concerns of their citizens, some regulators are proving to be slow in following the example of European countries in trying to restrict the carbon emissions of data centres.
Consumers are also generally ignorant of the cost in human suffering of sourcing some of the rare metals, now universally used in products such as smartphones, says Mr Wilson.
"Most people are entirely unaware that their devices contain metals of questionable origin. Only a few places in the world have these metals in sufficient quantities to make them worth mining."
Tungsten, for example, is what is know as a "conflict" metal that is widely used in mobile phones. It is the best material for the small hammer that enables mobile phones to vibrate. Congo is rich in tungsten. According to the research firm NPD, smartphone shipments will reach 1 billion units worldwide by 2016.
But American legislators are finally waking up to the matter of questionable sourcing and laws have been drafted to make it obligatory for companies buying materials from countries suspected to be culprits to make disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The IT industry is also developing ways of reducing energy consumption using technologies such as "virtualisation", which enables a single computer server to securely host the data of more than one organisation, says Mr Wilson.
However, developing and adopting new energy-saving technologies and complying with western legislation may prove to be too expensive and onerous for many companies.
"As with most things there are clearly two ways of dealing with the problem: develop unique technologies that are far more efficient and that generate power more safely and efficiently, or ship the problem overseas where resources are cheaper and there is far less regulation," says Mr Enderle.
"Unfortunately the US government has a tradition of focusing companies on the latter path."
business@thenational.ae
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
Easter%20Sunday
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Book%20Details
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Bio
Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind.
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.
