Communications networks are eating up a lot of power — and with the proliferation of online video and data-rich mobile applications, such consumption is set to climb even further. According to the Smart 2020 report, information and communication technology services are currently responsible for a full 2 percent of the total carbon footprint; communications networks alone account for a third of that consumption. And the report estimates that given user demand and production, those numbers are going to double in the next 10 years (for more, read “Bridging the ICT Network Energy Chasm” on Enriching Communications).
In the same spirit as Google’s November 2007 proclamation to develop one gigawatt of energy cheaper than coal, Bell Labs has launched an initiative it’s calling Green Touchâ„¢, which consists of a consortium of experts working together to make communications networks 1,000 times more energy efficient than they are today. The initiative has a time frame of five years, and if successful would mean an annual savings of 200 million tons of carbon emissions.
While there are many energy reduction initiatives already in play, they only promise small cuts to power consumption. Even if each one met their goals, total power consumption would remain flat given the usage forecasts laid out in the Smart 2020 report. What’s needed is a more radical rethinking of our consumption and a complete reworking of the communications grid.
To learn more, watch a summary of the challenge; to get involved, head over to greentouch.org.
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