How the Tech Industry is Addressing Water Usage

Alexandria, VA - Server farms require significant amounts of energy to keep servers running and even more water to keep them functioning and cool. Tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have started building data centers in out-of-the-way places with local climates that can reduce the energy and water needs for operations. The semiconductor industry is also innovating to reduce their water usage.

The October issue of EARTH Magazine explores how the tech industry is addressing the hard reality of water as a finite resource. Solutions range from submerging server rooms underwater, using creative programming to maximize processing during daily temperature cycles, employing sensing equipment, and using dry chemical reactions and high-frequency sound waves to reduce water used during cleaning processes associated with microchip development. These efforts are not just a safeguard for the environment; disruption in chip manufacturing or data centers could have significant consequences.

Read the full article at: http://bit.ly/2d2m7FW.

October Issue Highlights

• Lack of afterslip following the Nepal earthquake hints at mounting plate tensions
• Clouds can form in the absence of nucleating particles
• New research suggests that the reaches of the Milky Way may now be invisible to a third of humanity

These stories and many more are available in the October issue of EARTH Magazine, now available for digital download at www.earthmagazine.org, or in print in the September/October dual issue.