1 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:07,935 The cloud. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,935 It's changed the world by helping us live online. 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,655 Netflix, Amazon, emails, texts. 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,215 So a lot of your life is on the cloud? Yeah. It's all up there. 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,015 But what's the cloud doing to the planet? 6 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,535 A large data centre would consume the same amount of electricity 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,655 as a very large town. 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,215 We investigate the new environmental threat 9 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:36,975 we all help create. 10 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,175 We're looking at potentially thousands of new homes 11 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,255 that will either not come forward or will come forward more slowly 12 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,295 because of the cloud. 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:46,535 WOMAN SINGS 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:48,695 And how social media like this 15 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,415 can be as bad for the planet as long-distance flights. 16 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,655 I think the danger is we just keep everything. 17 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,255 So there's data just building up and building up and building up. 18 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,855 We all love using the cloud, but where is it? 19 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,375 You see there is no facilities on the trail, 20 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,375 it's just pure nature all the way. 21 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,255 So it's just kind of woods, fjords and mountains. Yeah. 22 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:42,975 The cloud is the vast network of computers that stores our data 23 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,335 and helps make the internet work. 24 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,495 And it's hidden away in unlikely places. 25 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,855 So you see that nature is changing now, there's less trees. 26 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,175 The main thing you need to know about the cloud is it's greedy. 27 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:06,775 Wherever it goes, it needs vast amounts of power and water. 28 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,575 If you were looking for the perfect place to put the cloud, 29 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,655 you would struggle to find a better place than this. 30 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,855 A Norwegian mountain range - 31 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:23,895 fjords full of water 32 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:26,135 and a green electricity supply. 33 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,775 They power and cool the computer servers the cloud needs. 34 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,735 It might look like a villain's secret lair, 35 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:45,895 but this is part of the cloud. 36 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:57,455 Welcome. Thank you. 37 00:02:57,480 --> 00:02:59,375 It's quite a place! 38 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,775 It is an amazing place. Extraordinary. 39 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,375 I'm Richard. Pleased to meet you. Welcome. Nice to meet you as well. 40 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,495 This bunker near Stavanger was built to store weapons for NATO. 41 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,695 Now it stores data. 42 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,255 Ancl you can hear the bustling above us. 43 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,215 Here is the high-voltage transformers delivering power 44 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,215 to the data centre. They like power, don't they, data centres? 45 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,655 We... It's a power-intensive industry. 46 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:29,335 We need a lot of power. 47 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:37,055 This is one of thousands of data centres around the world. 48 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,215 I can feel the power! It's just so much noise. 49 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:43,935 It's not expected, but it's so loud. 50 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:45,535 There's the fans and the servers. 51 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,455 There's loads going on. 52 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,135 It's like being in a massive data factory. 53 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:00,055 These servers hold important safety data for a major car manufacturer. 54 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,095 They mustn't fail. 55 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,535 So everything has a backup. 56 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,495 Two banks of servers, 57 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,375 two power supplies - red and green, 58 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,815 two water cooling systems. 59 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:20,895 Double the water, double the power. 60 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,015 Wow. Very warm in here. 61 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:30,815 Let me explain why it's so warm. 62 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:32,535 These are the back of the servers. 63 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:34,575 You can see them all flashing away. 64 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,615 Now, each one of these is pumping out heat and there are 40 servers 65 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,415 in there and 40 servers in there, 66 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,375 and hundreds and thousands all the way down here. 67 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,655 Worldwide, the cloud relies on a network of millions 68 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,175 and millions of computer servers. 69 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:05,575 We have been inside a data room today, and if I switch off the power 70 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,775 to that data room, we have 20,000 people that are not able to work. 71 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,535 They need those servers, the application that is running 72 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,335 on those servers, in order to do their daily work. 73 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,855 Do you think the environmental footprint of data centres 74 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,295 is going to become a big issue? 75 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,095 I think it is a big issue today 76 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,615 because we're an industry that is growing. 77 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,055 Everything is getting digitalised. 78 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:41,095 Even up here in Norway, with almost ideal conditions, 79 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,815 the use of power is staggering. 80 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:52,735 At full capacity, the data centre uses the same amount of electricity 81 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,455 as more than 100,000 homes. 82 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,055 Most countries don't have mountains that they can hollow out, 83 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,575 but everywhere has data. 84 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,895 And those two things that data centres need - power and cooling - 85 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,855 are becoming global environmental problems. 86 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,775 The word cloud, it feels quite ethereal and almost unreal. 87 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,575 Ancl I think that contributes to people not thinking of it 88 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,615 as a physical entity 89 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:29,575 with actual impacts, actual energy use, actual carbon emissions. 90 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,095 So in that sense, the word is also quite dangerous. 91 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,375 Think about how many times you use the cloud. 92 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,255 It's quickly become indispensable. 93 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,815 Everything from pictures of me and my family to exactly 94 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:51,975 what I watch, what I buy. Everything's online. 95 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,095 I own very few physical things. 96 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,895 It's all the cloud? All the cloud. Everything's on the cloud. 97 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,975 Literally all of the photos that I take, 98 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,535 the music that I listen to. Erm... 99 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:11,055 God. Now that you think about it, it's literally everything, isn't it? 100 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,335 I'm at uni at the moment, so all my documents 101 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,815 that I use, any assignments, Netflix, YouTube. 102 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,615 I guess, like, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok. 103 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,655 A lot of stuff. Yeah, a lot of stuff, yeah. 104 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,455 The cloud has changed the way we live. 105 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,215 Working from home and online meetings 106 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:36,255 cut travel and save energy. 107 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,935 But using the cloud creates greenhouse gases too. 108 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,375 As a rough comparison, research suggests a five-minute internet 109 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:50,895 search uses around as much energy 110 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:53,495 as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea. 111 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,015 Internet search is a really good example because an internet search 112 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,855 relies on all the infrastructure, the part that's unseen. 113 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,415 And the figures are contested. 114 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,135 There is some uncertainty around them. 115 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,255 But somewhere there's a machine that's doing all the analysis 116 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,175 of the data and all the indexing, which allows the search 117 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,335 to be then clone rapidly. 118 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:20,655 There's machinery under the surface doing that on your behalf, and each 119 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,535 of that has a carbon cost. 120 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,535 Many in the industry say an online search is nowhere 121 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,175 near as bad as boiling a kettle. 122 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,255 But what's not disputed is our huge internet usage 123 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,455 creates significant greenhouse gases. 124 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,375 Take our love of viral videos. 125 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,135 MUSIC PLAYS 126 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,695 Keyboard Cat was one of the first. 127 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,655 WOMAN SINGS 128 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:59,295 Laughing Baby here has been watched almost 400 million times. 129 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,975 And this is the most-watched YouTube video of all time. 130 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,255 Baby Shark has been watched 12 billion times. 131 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,855 That is a lot of computer power. 132 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:29,015 Then there's the films and box sets we stream... 133 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,975 ...and the huge amounts of commercial, government and research data. 134 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,615 Now, the estimates vary, but globally the cloud is thought 135 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:49,175 to be responsible for between a quarter and 1.5% 136 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,855 of all greenhouse gas emissions. 137 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,775 That's at least 100 million tonnes a year. 138 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:04,815 In some ways you could say don't get too fixated by the numbers. 139 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,095 You can see the trends, and the trends are very clear. 140 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,215 We know it's significant. 141 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,695 There's enough data out there to act on. 142 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:25,495 This vast, power-hungry industry didn't even exist two decades ago. 143 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,055 It's growing all the time to keep up with demand. 144 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:41,815 Right now we're in the HyperX Arena here in Las Vegas, 145 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,255 inside the Luxor Casino and Hotel. 146 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,215 We are about to get started with our Mario Kart tournament 147 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,215 Saturday Night Speedway. 148 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,575 In this world, then, how big is the cloud? How important is it? 149 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,175 Obviously, cloud saves are really important when it comes to 150 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,135 saving your data or your settings, all your characters. 151 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,295 All that stuff gets pulled. It's all on the cloud? Yeah. 152 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,775 CHATTER 153 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:09,335 Here, it's not just the game play that happens on the cloud. 154 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:15,095 The gaming and the events in here is also being streamed 155 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,255 over the internet through the cloud 156 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,135 so thousands of people at home can watch what's going on here, 157 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,815 and gaming in the United States is more popular to watch 158 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,695 than many television stations. 159 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:33,815 Gaming is one reason why America's data centres now use about 2% 160 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,895 of the country's entire electricity supply. 161 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,055 Do you ever worry about the environmental impact of the cloud? 162 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:43,175 It takes a ton of AC, it takes a ton of water, 163 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,455 it takes a lot of energy. 164 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:49,095 But I haven't dug anything further into it, or I haven't had to. 165 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,535 Do you ever wonder about the environmental consequences 166 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:54,935 of using the cloud? 167 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:01,975 I mean, it takes electricity to run all the computers and the storage 168 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,575 on the back end, but otherwise it seems like a fairly clean industry. 169 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,335 From here in Vegas, you don't have to travel far to see 170 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,575 where the cloud comes to Earth. 171 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,015 There are more than 40 data centres built or planned 172 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,695 in Arizona's Salt River Valley. 173 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,815 This one is run by Apple. 174 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,375 Google has been given permission for a data centre here. 175 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,295 A new electricity substation has been built just to power it. 176 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:54,695 And this is being built for Facebook. 177 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,735 So this is a big chunk of desert that's just been transformed 178 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,575 into an absolutely enormous data centre. 179 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,175 This is Meta, so that's Facebook. 180 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,055 Look at the size of it. Look at the scale of it. 181 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,295 Wow. If you look over there, you can see where the... 182 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:14,895 Cos these things need a lot of power, and that's where the power 183 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,975 is going to come in. That is some site. 184 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:24,935 People don't understand what the cloud is. 185 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,615 They look in the sky and say, "It's got to be up there somewhere." 186 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:31,495 But in reality, these are large storage facilities. 187 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,295 Ancl the growth, the projected growth in data centres 188 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,655 for the next five years is tremendous. 189 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,055 There are data centres here that have been given 190 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,775 water allowances of more than a billion litres a year. 191 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:52,655 That's enough to fill 192 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:55,615 an Olympic-sized swimming pool every day. 193 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,775 And that's a big ask in the desert. 194 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,695 Take the Colorado River, which supplies about 40 million 195 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,895 people in this part of the US. 196 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,215 It flows through the Hoover Dam. 197 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,095 Look at the white water mark. 198 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:28,015 It shows how far water levels have dropped in 40 years. 199 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,495 The reservoir is barely a quarter full. 200 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:36,695 The walls are just so exposed. 201 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,135 It's a really dramatic example of how much water 202 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:43,495 has kind of just gone from the system. 203 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,775 The water level's falling because of drought 204 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:54,175 and climate change. 205 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,415 Data centres aren't causing the shortage, 206 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,895 but they're a new pressure on the dwindling supply. 207 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,895 Today, we've been talking about data processing centres and how much 208 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,695 water they could potentially use within the Colorado River basin, 209 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,415 which is honestly... 210 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:15,695 Teal Lehto uses TikTok to campaign about water issues. 211 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,895 It's astonishing. Yeah, it's really terrifying seeing how far the water 212 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,015 levels have gone down. 213 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,135 How do you feel about data centres moving in here and bringing with 214 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,015 them demands for more water? 215 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,415 I think that we need to instil 216 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,575 an ethic of water conservation in every industry within the basin, 217 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,815 regardless of how important that industry is or how many people 218 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,535 it serves. It needs to be using the least amount of water 219 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,135 possible to operate. 220 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,735 I just think that every industry, including the cloud, needs 221 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,775 to be focused on water conservation if they're going to be operating 222 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,855 within one of the most arid regions of the United States. 223 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:06,695 The US government has ordered a 20% cut in the amount of water 224 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:11,015 Arizona can take from the Colorado River this year. 225 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:15,055 But cities like Mesa are welcoming data centres. 226 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,455 How can you promise them that they'll have water? 227 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,255 Through smart conservation efforts that we've clone over the years, 228 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:30,575 Mesa... Each city here in the valley has their own different water 229 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,535 situations. Ours is very strong. 230 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:38,735 Ancl I also think about everybody's use of phones and different devices, 231 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,055 and that storage has to go somewhere. 232 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,655 The city authorities say most of the data centres 233 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:49,335 will use air cooling. 234 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,775 They would use less water but more electricity. 235 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,935 The big tech companies say they are reducing water consumption 236 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:07,735 here and using other rivers, and that globally they promise 237 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,575 to replenish as much water as they use 238 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,255 in all of their data centres. 239 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,415 They say they're funding projects around the world 240 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,535 to recycle and preserve water. 241 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:22,215 Companies are making up for their 242 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,735 water consumption in some other part of the world. 243 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,015 It's like, well, no, this is the desert where you had the impact. 244 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:32,815 You should be working on zero water where the impact is occurring. 245 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,575 I would say that it's really... it's important to recognise 246 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,055 that it's, in the end, it's one system. 247 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,055 And what are the companies doing about power? 248 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,575 Well, some of them say they are already carbon-neutral 249 00:17:55,600 --> 00:18:00,975 because of their use of renewable energy sources and offsetting. 250 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,055 That's funding environmental projects like tree planting 251 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,135 that balance out their emissions of carbon. 252 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,815 We should all be very suspicious of these synthetic accounting 253 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,615 exercises because often what they mean in paper 254 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,335 is very different to what they mean in the real world. 255 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,895 A lot of the industry are trying to do the right thing. 256 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,015 A lot of the cloud infrastructure companies are building things 257 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,215 like wind farms, they're building solar farms. 258 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,615 That's really positive and we should encourage that. 259 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,295 But it doesn't mean that you're not releasing any emissions. 260 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:43,935 In some places, the cloud's hunger for power is putting communities 261 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,375 under pressure, as data centres demand more and more. 262 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,055 This is County Clare in the west of Ireland. 263 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,895 A site near Ennis looks set to become the country's 264 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:15,295 latest data centre. 265 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,655 The company behind it hasn't been made public, but its centre 266 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,615 would cover 145 acres. 267 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,375 It's huge. It's two storeys high. 268 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,175 It uses massive amounts of electricity. 269 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,535 The developers say it's sustainable. 270 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:38,095 Campaigners have appealed, and say the electricity 271 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:41,255 could power 200,000 homes. 272 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,735 I think the big picture is that things do have to change. 273 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:48,935 It's completely unsustainable to continue on this path of growth, 274 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:53,495 growth, growth, and especially with data centres who use an awful 275 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,295 lot of fossil fuel energy at the moment, as well as water. 276 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:58,175 Ancl those are very precious resources. 277 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,295 For a new industry, 278 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,695 the cloud's impact in Ireland has been remarkable. 279 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,535 Now there are more than 7O data centres, 280 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,895 and they use 14% of the country's electricity. 281 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:23,175 If the rise in data centres goes unchecked, then by 2030, 282 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,615 30% of all of Ireland's power will go into the cloud. 283 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:35,095 That would mean the cloud consuming about as much electricity 284 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:37,215 as all households in Ireland. 285 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:40,895 For us here in Ireland, 286 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,255 these consequences are physically around us. The cloud isn't up there. 287 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:45,975 It's right here, around us in Dublin. 288 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,055 Ancl that has implications for our energy infrastructure 289 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:50,655 here in the country, and importantly 290 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,215 for our environmental policies here as well. 291 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,055 Drive around and you can see how the cloud is taking over 292 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:05,615 some parts of Dublin. 293 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:09,335 So that's like a whole data area, is it? Yeah. 294 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,895 So you can see all those buildings. 295 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:13,455 I mean, they're enormous. 296 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,455 Madeleine Johansson is the Dublin Councillor who tried 297 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:19,775 to stop the cloud. 298 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,015 You see up here... Yep. 299 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:24,615 ...that. That's one, is it, there? 300 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,335 That's one, there. Big, isn't it? 301 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,615 She persuaded her council to ban new data centres. 302 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,215 Out of the 77 or so 303 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,815 data centres nationally in Ireland, 304 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,375 34 are here in South Dublin County. 305 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,695 That's just a huge amount of them 306 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,655 and that's putting a lot of pressure on the infrastructure here. 307 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,935 Ancl I just saw that and realised that this can't just keep 308 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:54,455 continuing, you know? 309 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,975 The Irish Government overturned the ban because it says data centres 310 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,615 bring substantial economic benefits. 311 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,935 But even the national power operator has warned the country 312 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:13,575 is struggling to cope. 313 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,175 The last year alone, we have added 314 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,775 the equivalent of over 200,000 homes' worth of electricity 315 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,535 to a power system that's already on its knees. 316 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,175 There comes a time when you just need to press the pause button, 317 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,935 reflect, and try and find a line of sight out of this crisis. 318 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:31,975 Ancl I think that's where we are at the moment. 319 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,735 And the impact of the cloud on people's lives is becoming 320 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:46,695 an issue in the UK as well. 321 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,055 Like at this big industrial estate in Slough, 322 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,055 to the west of London. 323 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,135 It's now home to more than 30 data centres. 324 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,095 When you're on the ground in Slough, you know, it looks 325 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,415 like there are loads of big kind of data centre-shaped 326 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:10,655 buildings knocking about. 327 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,415 But when you actually look on a map, you can see the impact the cloud 328 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,495 is having in this kind of really small area. 329 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,655 If you look at the places on here, there's a big centre here 330 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:25,295 on one side of the road, a big centre just over the road, another 331 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:30,415 one over the road from that. Very big warehouses, all for data, 332 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,695 all in a very small area. 333 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:39,855 They all need water. 334 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:44,495 Last summer, millions of Thames Water customers had a hosepipe ban. 335 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,135 But 140 data centres still got their supply. 336 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,495 Thames says it's now reviewing the centres' water consumption. 337 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,255 This is Staines in West London. 338 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,335 Data centres are moving in, and that means there's not enough 339 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:09,695 power to go around. 340 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,335 New homes were put on hold because of the cloud. 341 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,695 Developers were told by planners they could be delayed for years. 342 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,775 Data centres have definitely stifled the delivery of housing 343 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,295 and the speed at which we can deliver new housing in this part 344 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:30,815 of the capital. 345 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,575 We're looking at potentially thousands of new homes 346 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,695 that will either not come forward or will come forward more slowly 347 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,255 because of the cloud and because of these data centres 348 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:41,815 in this part of England. 349 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,215 The Greater London Authority has confirmed that data centres 350 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,655 are restricting the amount of electricity available 351 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,055 for new homes in the London area. 352 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,055 But it says it has a plan in place to deal with the problem. 353 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,495 It's a part of London that really needs affordable housing. 354 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,495 Ancl the idea that this was because of the data centres, 355 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,055 because of the cloud was kind of completely 356 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:12,775 out of left-field for us. 357 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,775 So, there's a clear problem we're all causing. 358 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:24,295 Take your phone... 359 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,575 In the UK, we take around 900 pictures each year 360 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,375 and leave most of them on the cloud. 361 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,895 Most of us don't delete old messages... 362 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:40,975 ...or old emails. 363 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:44,975 They are stored forever. 364 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:49,375 The cloud has a lot of junk. 365 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,055 I think the danger is we just keep everything. 366 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,415 Absolutely everything is stored these clays... Forever. Forever! 367 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,135 On the off-chance it might be useful, 368 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,415 and it applies to everything. 369 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,255 So there's data just building up and building up and building up. 370 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,495 We can't just keep doing this forever. 371 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,015 We know where it's heading, and it's not good. 372 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:17,575 I have so many dumb photos on my phone. 373 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,455 I have photos of, you know, groceries I want my husband 374 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,175 to pick up. And yet I rarely go through all of the photos 375 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:29,175 that are being automatically stored on the cloud and delete them, 376 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,615 which I should do because I'm worried about the water footprint 377 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,375 of those photos. I'm worried about the carbon footprint, too. 378 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,495 I think most people have no idea. 379 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:44,815 As we use the cloud more, the pressure on resources will grow. 380 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,415 So, do WE need to change? 381 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,295 I think the genie has got out of the bottle. 382 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,375 We're not going to go back to the Stone Age. And a lot 383 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,695 of the stuff is wonderful, it's good fun, it's necessary for our jobs. 384 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,295 I think what we can all do in terms of personal responsibility is keep 385 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,975 an eye on our usage, but more importantly, just campaign 386 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,215 for more green energy within the data centre 387 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:07,695 in the cloud industry. 388 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,135 There are so many positives to the cloud. 389 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,255 # Blue skies smiling at me 390 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:25,935 # Nothing but blue sky... # 391 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,655 But it is not a harmless resource. 392 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,295 Our use comes at a price. 393 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:39,775 The enormous growth of the cloud and the ever-increasing demand 394 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:44,855 for data storage and data centres and all that they need to function, 395 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:49,255 it poses pretty fundamental questions about how we keep up 396 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:50,695 with that demand. 397 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,775 It's all very well and good to complain about the cloud 398 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,975 being up there or out here or whatever, but it serves us, 399 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,335 so in many ways we are part of the challenge that needs 400 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:04,575 to be addressed as well. 401 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,175 # Nothing but blue skies... # 402 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,335 The cloud is the environmental problem we are all making worse. 403 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:20,735 Everything we do online depends on an enormous power 404 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:25,015 and water-guzzling network that never switches off.