this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2024
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677
Google and Microsoft consume more power than some countries (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
71 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

In 2023, Google and Microsoft each consumed 24 TWh of electricity, surpassing the consumption of over 100 nations, including places like Iceland, Ghana, and Tunisia, according to an analysis by Michael Thomas. While massive energy usage means a substantial environmental impact for these tech giants, it should be noted that Google and Microsoft also generate more money than many countries. Furthermore, companies like Intel, Google, and Microsoft lead renewable energy adoption within the industry.

Detailed analysis reveals that Google's and Microsoft's electricity consumption — 24 TWh in 2023 — equals the power consumption of Azerbaijan (a nation of 10.14 million) and is higher than that of several other countries. For instance, Iceland, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, and Tunisia each consumed 19 TWh, while Jordan consumed 20 TWh. Of course, some countries consume more power than Google and Microsoft. For example, Slovakia, a country with 5.4 million inhabitants, consumes 26 TWh.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (5 children)

You also use Gmail and force Google to run their servers to power it.

Reducing your carbon footprint as much as possible is important, but it's absurd to get mad at companies that power 90% of the world's businesses for using a bunch of power to do so. It takes power to do those things. Get mad at the companies who are over consuming relative to their peers and those that are driving demand towards unattainable activities. Just getting mad at people for moving and using energy is absurd.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I just wish we never got to this point to begin with. We shouldn't have trusted all our keys to a single cool startup in the early 2000s.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

To be honest, one single company running all the infrastructure is probably way better on the environment than millions of small providers

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