Headlines like this have the same effect on me as a strong cup of coffee. I mean, how cool is this statistic: Avatars consume as much electricity as Brazilians. The reference is, of course, to the electricity consumed by all the Second Life avatars online at any given time. Actually, the whole subject of the environmental impact of this massive thing the Internet has become is fascinating. As if equaling Brazil’s electricity consumption isn’t bad enough, have a look at this interesting little calculation:
“…looking at CO2 production, 1,752 kWH/year per avatar is about 1.17 tons of CO2. That’s the equivalent of driving an SUV around 2,300 miles (or a Prius around 4,000).”
As the article states, “…avatars aren’t quite as intangible as they seem. They don’t have bodies, but they do leave footprints.”
Worth a read.
May 15th, 2009 10:55
Yes I remember reading the original article. Have you seen this one; Linden Lab have been hard at work greening up their machine….
https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/technology/blog/2009/05/14/the-greening-of-second-life