I always see posts about how streaming emits CO2 and has a high carbon footprint but I don’t actually understand how that happens.
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Streaming affects the environment by using energy to power the data centers which store the content and use up electricity. This electricity production creates carbon dioxide emissions which is a large contributor to global warming.
All of the content creation and infrastructure required for you to view a stream consumes electricity. Most of that electricity is generated from burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels emits carbon.
Twitch’s servers need electricity. And concrete facilities to host them in. And natural resources to build the computers.
The people who are saying that are basing it on electrical production. Streaming uses electricity. A lot of places still have CO2 emitting power generation, so anything electrical has a “CO2 footprint”. Chances are, though, it is not a “high carbon footprint” due to new regulations on power plant emissions, but it’s also not zero. So, they can ignore the actual data, and just use the parts that fit their narrative
The infrastructure that enables streaming (and basically everything else on the internet) are a bunch of computers that are always running so that they can store and send you the data when you ask for it.
It, of course, takes energy to run these computers. Also, like all computers, they generate a lot of heat as waste. In order to not literally cook the machines, data centers must use a ton of energy on air conditioning.
However, these are *not* a huge source of emissions. Data centers comprise about 2% of all energy used in the US. A single beef patty has the carbon footprint of a bit less than 80 hours of streaming video.
The electricity cost of both running your electronic device and the server that the information is stored on and the cost of transferring that information, in general a high proportion of that electricity power will come from fossil fuels which are burned to generate electricity and in doing so release CO2.
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.
Let’s say you want watch your favorite movie 10 times.
If you are watching on DVD, you just play it 10 times.
If you stream it 10 times, you need to completely download the entire movie 10 times.
The physical DVD needs to be pressed, packaged, sold, and delivered. All of those steps take energy, but only happen once. After that you only need to power the DVD player (and screen) for each play.
Streaming means several servers need to be running all day, every day, ready to send the entire movie file to as many people as want to watch it. Delivering over the internet requires several servers and additional equipment to use power each and every time it gets streamed. You still need to power the screen (and stream player) for each play too.
Streaming involves computers and networking equipment. That equipment uses electricity, and when it’s busy doing something (like streaming), it uses more electricity than when it’s just sitting there doing nothing.
Most of our electricity is still made by burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), and that emits CO2 when you burn it.
Therefore, streaming produces CO2 by increasing the demand for electricity.
The internet in general takes a shit load of electricity to run. Hell, even online banking could be seen as bad for the environment. I think it’s a bit of a misnomer to say “streaming” affects the environment. I do see that quoted a lot in the media though.
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