How does streaming affect the environment?

Question

I always see posts about how streaming emits CO2 and has a high carbon footprint but I don’t actually understand how that happens.

In: 5

Answer 1

Aside from the Twitch kinds of streams that require the energy for all computers to run, streaming on netflix/YT whatever takes a ton of energy as everything is saved on the cloud.

Let’s talk about the cloud. It’s not a magical place where the internet is stored above our heads. The cloud is a collection of datacentres that consume so much energy that the latest data-centre that was built here in the Netherlands consumes **double** the amount of energy that our capital city of Amsterdam (800k inhabitants) needs for everything. Note that the Neterlands is one of one of the richest countries in the world and therefore requires a ton of energy per capita.