In a world increasingly driven by digital technologies, the convenience and innovation offered by computers, artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency are undeniable. Yet, behind the glowing screens lies an often-overlooked carbon footprint. Many don’t realize it, but every digital action you take affects the real world and the environment. As society embraces the digital revolution, people must become more conscious of the effects their digital lives may have and companies have to do all they can to minimize those impacts.
The infrastructure supporting digital life requires immense energy resources. Data centers, the backbone of the internet, house thousands of servers running around the clock to store and process vast amounts of information. According to the International Energy Agency, these centers consume approximately 1-1.3% of global electricity annually, a figure projected to rise as digital activities increase. Ting Waymouth, the Northern Virginia organizer for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said that data centers currently consume about 26% of the state’s liveliness in Virginia.
While transformative, AI technologies further increase energy consumption. According to Forbes, training a single large AI model can emit over 626,000 pounds (approximately 284 metric tons) of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the lifetime emissions of five average cars. Waymouth stated that because of the increased digital demands caused by AI, data centers could soon account for more than half of Virginia’s total energy usage.
Cryptocurrency “mining” is a process by which bitcoin is obtained through a computer doing a series of complex tasks. Bitcoin, the most prominent cryptocurrency recently reaching $100,000 per coin, relies on a “proof of work” system, which requires miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions. Like many other aspects of digital life, most don’t associate this process with physical effects in our world, but in reality, mining demands significant computational power and electricity. According to Digiconomist, estimates suggest that Bitcoin mining alone consumes more energy annually than some countries, such as Poland.
Additionally, bitcoin transactions involving the transfer and trade of currency, consume huge amounts of water each year. A study in 2023 showed that a single Bitcoin transaction can consume up to 17,000 liters of water while yearly water consumption is close to 733 billion gallons, comparable to the water usage of entire nations such as Switzerland.

Despite the pressing nature of these issues, they are only getting worse more quickly. A contributing factor to the problem is the lack of regulations regarding the environmental impacts of digital activities. Waymouth said, “Data centers don’t have many guardrails on them right now.” She further explained that some of the clean energy projects that could counter the enormous energy and water usage of data centers struggle to get approved at all, while the data center just keeps growing. She said, “Things like solar plants have a really hard time getting approved, but you’re seeing data centers being approved really easily.” If these data centers continue to expand, as they will due to the growing ubiquity of AI, and regulations aren’t improved, the situation will only continue to worsen.
However, there are many ways to mitigate this issue. First is simply being conscious of your digital footprint. If you use AI regularly or for large tasks, think about the impact of that action. Just because you can’t see the massive amount of water and energy used doesn’t mean it’s not there. Waymouth said, “We can all stand to be more mindful about various ways that our actions are impacting emissions, and so using AI for frivolous reasons could be a bad idea if you care about your emissions.”
Additionally, advocating for change is crucial to solving the problem. Imposing proper regulations on the energy sources for the data centers and crypto-mining facilities used by big tech could hugely diminish the negative impacts of technology and allow us to continue innovating toward a better world, but for that to happen, the public needs to use its voice. Waymouth said, “Anybody can get involved with lobbying efforts. And by lobbying, I just mean talking to your legislators. They’re hearing more from the data center industry than they are from citizens who care about the climate and pollution.” Reaching out to legislators can have a huge effect and almost anyone can do it. It is a crucial step towards making the changes necessary to fix the problems surrounding the environmental issues of computers.