Between AI and bingeing TV shows, we’re using more data than ever – and data centres are power hungry. Thankfully, there are some ways to optimise their electricity use.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Energy consumption
Displaying 1 - 20 of 33 articles
AI is everywhere these days, which means more data centers eating up more electricity. There’s no easy fix, but some combination of efficiency, flexibility and new technologies could ease the burden.
Extractive mining disrupts the balance of the planet’s ecosystems and is set to rise. Could urban mining or degrowth help curb unsustainable practices?
Whether artificial intelligence leads to more or less energy use will depend on how we adapt to using it.
Most Aussie homes are not suited to the current climate, let alone future extremes. But they can be upgraded. A new report identifies the most common housing types and benefits of renovating.
Ecological overshoot is driven by human consumption and a belief in endless economic growth. Could the marketing and media industries that feed those habits also help change them?
In some cases, adding a battery to your rooftop solar system will pay off. But to be sure of this, households need information about many factors – and there’s no single reliable place to find it.
Generative AI, those astonishingly powerful language- and image-generating tools taking the world by storm, come at a price: a big carbon footprint. But not all AIs are equally dirty.
The countries that accumulate the most wealth are also the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Tackling overconsumption would make it possible to reach the desired goal of zero emissions sooner.
The energy consumption of Internet use has multiplied by a thousand-fold in 20 years. So how can we better visualise our energy ‘spending’ and reduce carbon emissions?
Australia is an exception among developed nations in having increased energy use per person since 2005. A new consultation paper offers hope of policies that can lift the nation’s energy performance.
Energy modeling software provides insight into whether letting your A/C relax while you’re gone all day will save you energy – and money.
As the UK warms, the government needs to pay more attention to sustainably and efficiently cooling buildings.
New research has found that low-rise urban environments are more space and carbon efficient than high-rise buildings which have a drastically higher carbon impact.
The way we use fossil fuels is wasteful and inefficient. A world based on renewable energy would need half as much as we produce now.
Some alternative cryptocurrencies, called ‘altcoins’, demand far less electrical power than bitcoin.
There is no doubt we need to stop emitting fossil carbon. But if we fixate on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and don’t also reduce consumption and energy waste, we risk failure.
You might be surprised to find yourself in the company of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the world’s richest 1%. This has big implications for planetary survival.
Flattening inequality between and within countries could allow everyone a good standard of living within a liveable climate.
There’s a buzz around sustainability, but consumers still struggle to develop new habits. Here’s how to change that.
Top contributors
-
Morgan Foundation Senior Research Fellow in Freshwater Ecology and Environmental Science, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
-
Associate Professor, University of Leeds
-
Senior Lecturer, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex
-
Academic Head of RCUK Centre for Energy Epidemiology, UCL
-
Professor of Politics
-
Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Huddersfield
-
Associate Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science
-
Professor of Energy and Climate Policy, University of Leeds
-
Lecturer in Finance, Murdoch University
-
Academic Fellow, DEMAND Centre, Lancaster University
-
Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University
-
Professor of Energy Economics, Grenoble École de Management (GEM)
-
Professor in Regeneration & Sustainable Development, University of Salford
-
Professor of Industrial Economics, University of Warwick
-
Professor of Marketing, Grenoble École de Management (GEM)
