good thing i pirate everything. it is funny tho, we know for a fact that 100 companies are responsible for 70% of global emissions. and that’s just the 100 biggest. what percent of global emissions are to be blamed on capitalists if we took the 500 biggest/most profitable corporations? something tells me it would be a crazy number like 95% of emissions come from corporations, if not more. and even then, whatever emissions your average person may be responsible for, it’s entirely in service to the capitalist economy. be it over-consumption or having to commute in a private gas vehicle everywhere they go
I’ve heard this before, that Netflix creates crazy emissions, but why? Isn’t it just a server sending a video by HTTPS
Also, if this is true, new argument for pirating just dropped.
I read somewhere that they transcode everything on the fly, which they insist is necessary. The real point though, imo, is that cloud services have to be incredibly energy intensive in order to justify their existence to begin with.
I read somewhere that they transcode everything on the fly, which they insist is necessary
Oh that could be the explanation.
I wonder if the journalists are lying though. It’s not even in Netflix’s corporate interest to use big energy.
I don’t think so. Afaik, factors such as subtitles, different languages, different client hardware, mean that transcoding everything on the fly isn’t quite as crazy as you’d first think. I imagine there’s some sort of DRM stuff too, which is going to take its toll.
But I stand by what I said about the business needing the energy cost in order to justify its existence. It’s not just a question of revenue/expenditure — e.g. constantly needing to expand capacity makes a compelling story for investors. Capitalist efficiency, innit
Streaming or torrenting? Nah, the power it takes to keep those servers running and cooled is enormous.
Buying DVDs? Nah, the manufacture and distribution of those also has an enormous carbon footprint.
Getting the plaintext script from the Internet and making a local theater production out of it? Now THAT’S peak carbon neutrality!
Getting the plaintext script from the Internet and making a local theater production out of it? Now THAT’S peak carbon neutrality!
Ah but what about when you factor in all of the commuting of the actors and staff (each in their own truck, the only PATRIOTIC transportation method) plus the emissions from the production of the costumes and sets, not to mention keeping the theatre running. No, I’m afraid the only neutral form of entertainment are rogue puppet shows and one-person bands.
Probably because all the servers are powered with fossil fuels.
I don’t think pirating would be better, you are connecting to many different countries…
Piracy is much better because:
a) happens in the background while you do other things (both downloading and uploading)
b) doesn’t usually use dedicated servers which consume a bunch of power for working and cooling (and take up land). In case of streaming services, servers need to be turned on 24/7 whether someone uses them or not. Then there’s the matter of energy used for their massive bandwidth to be able to distribute to all the clients simultaneously.
c) doesn’t use crazy amounts of power for encoding/decoding and compressing/decompressing a stream.
The third reason alone makes piracy a lot more environmentally friendly.
a. okay you can argue that it’s better utilisation of resources not having your pc idle. There is an argument against office computers to be made there.
b makes no sense. The servers serve thousands of people at a time, it is not idling.
I do not have data for this but I’ve noticed that much of the speed I get on torrents come from like top 10 peers all of which are dedicated servers
C. Sure.
My preference has always been for a centralised state owned streaming service. One which allow users to download shit without drm.
It allows routes to be short, minimising hops, also reduces connections made.
"We still run our power grids on fossil fuels because they lobby the governemnet to not convert to renewables. Here why that’s your fault because you like entertainment. "
Every once in a while Fox News and other Right outlets tell us that people in America aren’t poor because they have televisions, computers, air conditioning, and cell phones. I always say that if those things make you ‘rich’ doesn’t having a yacht make you super greedy?
Blaming the working class for carbon emissions would make sense if we had actual control over government policy.
Imagine being kidnapped, and your kidnapper feeding you meat while berating you for not being vegan.
