Environment Variables
summary
IT contributes about 2% of global emissions and Victoria power emits roughly 700 g CO2/kWh so choices about hosting and hardware matter quantitatively. Examples include a desktop using ~16.8 kg CO2/day, a MacBook Pro lifecycle ~450 kg CO2, Sydney–Melbourne flights ~148 kg CO2 return, and 205 kg per Bitcoin tx with the Bitcoin network ~22 million tonnes/year. Practical steps are: measure via the GHG Protocol scopes, shift work to lower-carbon zones, reduce travel, prefer carbon‑neutral hosting, and buy vetted offsets like landfill methane capture.
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chapters (19)
- 0:00Intro
- 4:02Some people aren't convinced
- 4:32What I'm going to talk about
- 5:03IT causes about 2% of the world's emissions
- 5:44How does our work contribute to this?
- 7:27A beefy computer for a day
- 8:0015 inch Macbook Pro
- 8:30Flying return SYD-MEL
- 8:57One bitcoin transaction
- 10:22AWS t2.large EC2 instance in Sydney for a year
- 11:02Tech allows more efficient use of resources
- 11:40Reducing emissions of other sectors
- 12:48Mitigating our own emissions
- 15:04Undercover reporting
- 15:48Tips for reducing
- 17:13What to consider when picking offsets
- 17:57Undercover offsetting
- 20:51Talk to companies similar to you that are doing well
- 22:24We are contributing to the problem
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