互联网与气候变化
正文翻译
As we celebrate Earth Day 2024, the world seems to be on fire. Quite literally with some regions battling extreme wildfires, while other regions are drowning under massive flooding. Sea levels are rising, temperatures are climbing, and ice is melting. Amid all of this, it’s worth pausing and thinking about the Internet's relationship with climate change.
2024年世界地球日，这天整个世界好像都被架到了火上。一些地区在应对凶猛的火灾，也有一些地区却正遭受洪水的侵袭。气温不断在升高，冰川不断在融化，海平面也不断在上升。在这些变化之中，我们也值得停下来想一想，气候变化与互联网是否也有关系呢？
The reality is…it's complicated.
现实……很复杂。
On the one hand, the Internet is a tremendous force for good in helping reduce the greenhouse gases we may individually create and in connecting all the people working on climate solutions around the world. On the other hand, by its very nature, the Internet requires electricity to operate, and the devices we all use require the extraction of minerals and create vast amounts of e-waste. And, in the face of climate change, the Internet’s infrastructure needs our help to be able to continue to operate.
一方面，互联网在气候方面发挥了巨大的作用，它不仅有助于减少我们个人可能产生的温室气体，还让世界上所有致力于解决气候问题的人们联系了起来。但另一方面，互联网本身需要电力才能运行，我们使用的（互联网相关的）设备也需要提取矿物才能生产出来，并将在未来产生大量的电子垃圾。而且，互联网的基础设施也需要我们的帮助才能应对气候的变化。
It's complicated.
这很复杂。
How the Internet is Helping Address Climate Change
互联网如何帮助应对气候变化
If we just think back a couple of years to the height of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, we saw exactly how the Internet was a lifeline for us all. Working remotely from our own homes or other locations, we were able to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create. All without traveling and generating any of the climate impact associated with travel. A fascinating thing happened in that some cities had clean air for the first time in years. Less fossil fuels were consumed. People learned how the Internet could be used to reduce our commuting and air travel. While many have returned to commuting to offices and traveling (and the air pollution has returned, too), some people have continued working remotely, at least part of the time. We've seen how the Internet can help us reduce our own impact on the climate in this way.
回想两年前新冠疫情高峰期的各种封锁，我们深刻地认识到互联网对我们所有人来说是一条生命线。在家或其他地方远程工作时，我们能够互相连接、沟通、协作和创造。所有这些都不需要出行，也不会产生与之相关的气候影响。令人惊讶的是，一些城市的空气多年以来首次干净了。化石燃料的消耗减少了。人们学会了如何利用互联网减少通勤和长距离出行。虽然许多人已经恢复了通勤和长途旅行（空气污染也卷土重来），但一些人仍然在远程工作，至少一部分时间是这样。通过这种方式，我们感受到了互联网如何帮助我们减少对气候的影响。
The Internet also plays an enormous role in the sharing of scientific data and information about potential solutions to climate challenges. Scientists are collaborating using the Internet to engage in large-scale studies. They're making their information available to many other researchers. Regular people are getting involved in “citizen science” efforts that are collecting data, such as this example in Serbia. Vast sensor networks are being deployed that collect climate data via Internet connections. One example is what our Kyrgyzstan Chapter is doing with remote environmental info.
互联网在分享科研数据和信息方面也发挥着巨大作用，比如一些关于气候问题的潜在的解决方案等。科学家们正在利用互联网进行大规模研究，他们在向许多其他研究人员提供他们的信息。而普通人正在参与收集数据的“全民科学”工作，例如这个塞尔维亚的例子。大量通过互联网连接收集气候数据的传感器网络正在部署。比如这个吉尔吉斯斯坦分部利用远程环境信息所做的工作。
IoT infrastructure for monitoring and preventing emergencies in the Kyrgyz Republic. Source: Internet Society Kyrgyzstan Chapter
吉尔吉斯共和国用于监测和预防紧急情况的物联网基础设施。来源：互联网学会吉尔吉斯斯坦分部
In fact, if you look at the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Internet connectivity is critical to so many of them. If we are to have any hope of achieving the SDGs, the Internet is necessary to the communication and collaboration.
事实上，如果你关注联合国的可持续发展目标，就会发现互联网连接对其中许多目标都至关重要。如果我们要实现可持续发展目标，互联网是沟通与合作的必要条件。
We've also seen how the Internet plays a vital role in helping the people responding to disasters, some of which are related to climate change. Organizations such as the International Red Cross, NetHOPE, and the ITDRC all rely on Internet-based communication to help those who are in need.
我们还看到了互联网在帮助人们应对灾害方面发挥着至关重要的作用，其中一些灾害与气候变化有关。国际红十字会、NetHOPE 和 ITDRC 等组织都依靠基于互联网通信系统来帮助那些需要帮助的人。
In all these many ways, the Internet is a force for good helping people respond to our changing climate.
在所有这些方面，互联网是一股有益的力量，帮助人们应对我们不断变化的气候。
How the Internet is Affecting the Climate
互联网如何影响气候
And yet…by its very nature, the Internet needs electricity. The 1s and 0s that make up the fabric of the Internet are signals relayed over electrical wires, optical cables, or radio spectrum. The creation of those 1s and 0s requires power. No power, no Internet.
然而…从本质上讲，互联网需要电力。构成互联网的1和0都是电信号，这些信号通过电线、光缆或无线电进行传输。而且创造这些1和0也需要电。可以说没有电就没有互联网。
How is that power produced? Is it through renewable sources? Or fossil fuels? While remote working may help you reduce your personal impact through commuting, is it just changing the point of pollution to the massive power plants that need to generate more electricity to power our systems and devices?
电是如何产生的？它是通过可再生资源实现的吗？还是化石燃料？虽然远程工作可以避免通勤来减少个人的环境的影响，但它只是将影响地区从家里转移到了发电场了吗？到那些为我们的系统和设备供电的大型发电厂了？
The reality is that the Internet's infrastructure needs power in so many places: the transmission lines, the network routers, the Internet exchange points—even the subsea cables need power for repeaters and landing stations.
现实就是这样，互联网的基础设施在很多地方都需要电力：传输线缆、网络路由器、互联网交换节点——甚至海底电缆中的中继器和接入站也都需要电力支持。
And how much power is needed?
那么需要多少电力呢？
The Internet's network infrastructure has a certain level of need, but even more is needed for the data centers for all the applications, systems, and services. Much has been written about the massive power consumption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and our new favorite AI tools are also massive consumers of power. One estimate is that training a large language model such as ChatGPT-3 consumes as much energy as the yearly consumption of 130 US homes. The demand is straining the power grid in some regions.
互联网的基础设施对电力都有相当大的需求了，但数据中心里的应用程序、系统和服务则需要更多电能。已经有很多文章介绍了关于比特币和其他加密货币的巨大功耗，我们最喜欢的人工智能工具也是一个巨大的电力怪兽。据估计，训练像ChatGPT-3这样的大型语言模型所消耗的能量相当于130个美国家庭的年消耗量。这样大规模的用电量正导致一些地区的电网变得紧张。
But beyond those specific technologies, all our social networks, web hosting, and cloud computing systems need data centers. Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are constantly building more and more data centers to accommodate their rapid growth. Those data centers need power. They need physical space. A recent MIT study indicated that “the cloud” now has a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry, and that “a single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.” The study also cites the enormous cooling costs, the huge volumes of water required, and the noise pollution affecting local communities.
除了这些特定的技术之外，我们所有的社交网络、网络托管和云计算系统都需要数据中心。亚马逊、谷歌、Meta和微软等大公司正在不断建设越来越多的数据中心，以适应他们的快速增长。这些数据中心需要电力，也需要物理空间。麻省理工学院最近的一项研究表明，“云”现在的碳足迹比航空业更大，“一个数据中心可以消耗相当于50000户家庭的电力。”该研究还提到了巨大的冷却成本、所需的大量水以及影响当地社区的噪音污染等。
The Chemetall Foote Lithium Operation in Nevada, US. Source: Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
美国内华达州的Chemetall Foote锂业务。来源：Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
Beyond power and water, all the devices we use, whether they are routers, laptops, or cell phones, require the extraction of minerals and materials to produce the devices. For example, to produce the batteries we all need, lithium mining has a terrible effect on the surrounding area. And when these devices reach the end of their life or are no longer needed, they add to the massive piles of e-waste that are building up globally (something our Zimbabwe chapter is addressing in their country).
除了电力和水，我们使用的所有设备，无论是路由器、笔记本电脑还是手机，都需要提取矿物和材料来生产这些设备。例如，为了生产我们所有人都需要用的电池，锂元素的开采对周围地区有着可怕的影响。当这些设备使用寿命结束或不再需要时，它们会增加全球正在积累的大量电子垃圾（我们津巴布韦分部正在他们的国家解决这一问题）。
Newer connectivity options, too, such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems (e.g., SpaceX’s Starlix, OneWeb) bring new concerns. As we wrote about in our document about LEOs, there are many unanswered questions here: what will the impact be of the constant launching of rockets to add more satellites? As these constellations reach their full deployment, and with LEO satellites only having a five-year lifespan, what will the impact be of 10s or maybe 100s of satellites burning up in our upper atmosphere each week? We simply don’t know.
互联网接入的新途径，如近地轨道（LEO）卫星系统（如SpaceX的星链、OneWeb）也引发了人们新的担忧。正如我们在关于低地球轨道的文件中所写的那样，这里有许多问题没有得到回答：不断发射火箭以增加更多卫星会产生什么影响？这些星链的全面部署后，低轨卫星的寿命只有五年，每周10秒或100秒的卫星在我们的高层大气中燃烧会产生什么影响？我们根本不知道。
In all these many ways, the Internet affects the climate in unhelpful ways.
在上述这些方面，互联网对气候的影响是无益的。
Adapting to Climate Change
适应气候变化
In the face of climate change that is already happening, there is a larger question—how do we ensure the Internet continues to operate?
面对已经发生的气候变化，还有一个更大的问题——我们如何确保互联网的继续运行？
As sea levels rise, what happens to the landing stations for the subsea cables that carry 90+% of our traffic across the Internet? People in the industry have paying attention and doing research, but is it enough?
随着海平面上升，通过互联网传输90%以上流量的海底电缆的接入站会发生什么？业内人士一直在关注和研究，但这是否足够？
With the rise of more extreme weather events around the world, we've seen wildfires destroy all the telecommunications infrastructure of a region. We've seen floods drown out local connectivity options—even this past week in Dubai, in the desert! We've seen massive storms wipe out all the physical infrastructure on islands or in coastal communities.
随着世界各地更多极端天气事件的增加，我们看到火灾摧毁了一个地区的所有电信基础设施，也看到洪水淹没了当地的网络接入器——甚至在过去的一周，在迪拜的沙漠中，我们已经看到大规模风暴摧毁了岛屿或沿海社区的所有的基础设施。
A fascinating—and concerning—recent research paper (direct PDF lix) explored how a “multi-hazard event” could seriously impact connectivity across the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
最近一篇精彩（且令人担忧）的研究论文（PDF直接链接）探讨了“多灾害事件”如何严重影响北美太平洋西北地区的连通性。
How do we defend the Internet against these types of climate changes?
我们如何保护互联网免受这些类型的气候变化的影响？
Working On Solutions
制定解决方案
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and get lost in the feeling of despair, but the good news is that people are working on solutions.
人们很容易感到不知所措，迷失在绝望的感觉中，但好在人们正在研究解决方案。
Regarding mitigating the impact of the Internet on the climate, a few examples include:
关于减轻互联网对气候的影响，比如：
The Green Web Foundation is looking at the impact of web hosting providers
绿色网络基金会正在研究网络托管提供商的影响。
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has chartered an E-Impact Program for “discussing environmental impacts and sustainability of Internet technology”. Participants include people from within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) community, universities, and other groups and communities.
互联网架构委员会（IAB）已批准了一项 E-Impact 计划，以“讨论互联网技术的环境影响和可持续性”。参与者包括来自互联网工程任务组（IETF）社区、大学以及其他团体和社区的人员。
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a new Sustainable Web Community Group developing best practices for building more sustainable websites
万维网联盟（W3C）成立了一个新的可持续网络社区小组，为建立更可持续的网站制定最佳实践
Since 2021, the Internet Society Foundation has awarded grants in their Research program for “Greening the Internet”.
自2021年以来，互联网社会基金会在其“绿色互联网”研究项目中授予拨款。
Many other efforts are underway through a wide range of organizations.
许多其他的工作也正在广泛的组织里进行着。
Adapting the Internet in the face of climate change is an area where I see the need for more research. The Internet Society Foundation’s “Greening the Internet” program has funded some excellent work in this area, but there are still many areas to explore.
面对气候变化，适应互联网是我认为需要更多研究的领域。互联网社会基金会的“绿化互联网”计划资助了这方面的一些优秀工作，但仍有许多领域需要探索。
A key element for adaptation is to develop greater resilience in Internet infrastructure. On our Pulse site, we released the Internet Resilience Index (IRI) that measures the resilience of countries. We recently saw the impact of low resilience in an outage in western Africa where it seems that four subsea cables were laid in the same trench. When there was a suspected undersea rockslide, they were all severed.
适应的一个关键因素是提高互联网基础设施的可恢复能力。在我们的Pulse网站上，我们发布了衡量各国恢复力的互联网恢复力指数（IRI）。我们最近在西非的一次停电中看到了低弹性的影响，那里似乎有四根海底线缆铺设在同一条沟渠中。当疑似海底岩石滑坡时，这四根线缆都被切断了。
Building greater network resilience–at every level of our networks–is a key element of adapting the Internet to continue operations as our climate changes.
在我们网络的各个层面建立更大的网络弹性，是适应互联网在气候变化时继续运营的关键因素。
Taking Action
采取行动
There are many ways you can help:
您可以通过多种方式提供帮助：
Act Locally. Look at your own websites and systems. Use the Green Web Foundation's tool to find out how climate-friendly your hosting providers are. Make changes if you can—or ask questions of your current providers. Consider what options you may have for multiple forms of connectivity.
在当地行动。查看您自己的网站和系统。使用绿色网络基金会的工具来了解您的托管提供商对气候的友好程度。如果可以的话，可自行更改，或者向您当前的供应商咨询。另外考虑多种互联网接入的形式。
Advocate for more resilience. Use our Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index and Country Reports to advocate for increased resilience in your network. Determine if there is a local Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and if not, see if one can be created. Encourage people to develop local community networks in areas that need connectivity. Look at your own networks–in your home and your business or organization–and explore what you can do to make those networks more resilient.
建议提高韧性。使用我们的互联网协会脉搏互联网弹性指数和国家报告来倡导提高网络的弹性。确定是否有本地互联网交换点（IXP），如果没有，看看是否可以创建一个。鼓励人们在需要连接的地区发展当地社区网络。看看你自己的人际网络——在你的家庭、企业或组织中——并探索你能做些什么来提高这些网络的弹性。
Engage in more research. If you are in the academic space or with a research institution, engage in more research around these different aspects of the Internet and climate. Funding is available through the Internet Society Foundation. The deadline is 14 May 2024.
参与更多的研究。如果你在学术领域或研究机构，请围绕互联网和气候的这些不同方面进行更多的研究。互联网协会基金会提供了资金。截止日期为2024年5月14日。
Get involved. The IAB's E-impact program is open to all. Anyone can join the mailing list and participate in that work. Similarly, the W3C's Sustainable Web Community Group is open.
参与进来。IAB的 E-impact 计划对所有人开放。任何人都可以加入邮件列表并参与这项工作。同样，W3C的可持续网络社区小组也是开放的。
Donate. If you are financially able to donate funds, donate to groups working in this area.
捐赠，如果你在经济上有能力的话，可以向在这一领域工作的团体捐款。
Talk about these issues. Many people don't think about these aspects of the Internet. Like air and water, we've grown to take the Internet for granted. When I mention that the Internet's infrastructure could be impacted by climate change (e.g., rising sea levels), I can see the ideas pop into people's brains as new info floods in.
多谈论这些问题。许多人并不考虑互联网的这些方面。就像空气和水一样，我们越来越认为互联网是理所当然的。当我提到互联网的基础设施可能会受到气候变化（例如，海平面上升）的影响时，我可以看到随着这些新信息的涌入，这些想法突然出现在人们的脑海中。
The key to me is really that last point—we need to have these conversations and then move on to action. We need to build more resilience not only in the actual technical infrastructure, but also in the people and communities that keep the Internet operating.
对我来说，关键是最后一点——我们需要进行这些对话，然后采取行动。我们不仅需要在实际的技术基础设施中，而且需要在保持互联网运行的人民和社区中建立更大的弹性。
I'd also love to hear your suggestions. What ideas do you have? What solutions are you seeing to some of these challenges? Feel free to send me an email at york@isoc.org.
我也想听听你的建议。你有什么想法？对于其中的一些挑战您有什么解决方案？请随时发送电子邮件至york@isoc.org.
Our vision is that the Internet is for everyone. We want to ensure that everyone can access the Internet, both now and in the future. On this Earth Day—and every day—we need to look at how we can minimize the Internet’s impact on the climate, how we can protect the Internet’s infrastructure from the ongoing changes, and perhaps more than anything else, how we can use the Internet as a force for good as we as a society search for climate solutions.
我们的愿景是互联网是为每个人服务的。我们希望确保每个人都能访问互联网，无论是现在还是将来。在这个地球日，以及每一天，我们都需要研究如何最大限度地减少互联网对气候的影响，如何保护互联网的基础设施免受持续变化的影响，也许最重要的是，我们如何在社会寻求气候解决方案的同时，将互联网作为一种有益的力量。
2024年世界地球日，这天整个世界好像都被架到了火上。一些地区在应对凶猛的火灾，也有一些地区却正遭受洪水的侵袭。气温不断在升高，冰川不断在融化，海平面也不断在上升。在这些变化之中，我们也值得停下来想一想，气候变化与互联网是否也有关系呢？
The reality is…it's complicated.
现实……很复杂。
On the one hand, the Internet is a tremendous force for good in helping reduce the greenhouse gases we may individually create and in connecting all the people working on climate solutions around the world. On the other hand, by its very nature, the Internet requires electricity to operate, and the devices we all use require the extraction of minerals and create vast amounts of e-waste. And, in the face of climate change, the Internet’s infrastructure needs our help to be able to continue to operate.
一方面，互联网在气候方面发挥了巨大的作用，它不仅有助于减少我们个人可能产生的温室气体，还让世界上所有致力于解决气候问题的人们联系了起来。但另一方面，互联网本身需要电力才能运行，我们使用的（互联网相关的）设备也需要提取矿物才能生产出来，并将在未来产生大量的电子垃圾。而且，互联网的基础设施也需要我们的帮助才能应对气候的变化。
It's complicated.
这很复杂。
How the Internet is Helping Address Climate Change
互联网如何帮助应对气候变化
If we just think back a couple of years to the height of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, we saw exactly how the Internet was a lifeline for us all. Working remotely from our own homes or other locations, we were able to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create. All without traveling and generating any of the climate impact associated with travel. A fascinating thing happened in that some cities had clean air for the first time in years. Less fossil fuels were consumed. People learned how the Internet could be used to reduce our commuting and air travel. While many have returned to commuting to offices and traveling (and the air pollution has returned, too), some people have continued working remotely, at least part of the time. We've seen how the Internet can help us reduce our own impact on the climate in this way.
回想两年前新冠疫情高峰期的各种封锁，我们深刻地认识到互联网对我们所有人来说是一条生命线。在家或其他地方远程工作时，我们能够互相连接、沟通、协作和创造。所有这些都不需要出行，也不会产生与之相关的气候影响。令人惊讶的是，一些城市的空气多年以来首次干净了。化石燃料的消耗减少了。人们学会了如何利用互联网减少通勤和长距离出行。虽然许多人已经恢复了通勤和长途旅行（空气污染也卷土重来），但一些人仍然在远程工作，至少一部分时间是这样。通过这种方式，我们感受到了互联网如何帮助我们减少对气候的影响。
The Internet also plays an enormous role in the sharing of scientific data and information about potential solutions to climate challenges. Scientists are collaborating using the Internet to engage in large-scale studies. They're making their information available to many other researchers. Regular people are getting involved in “citizen science” efforts that are collecting data, such as this example in Serbia. Vast sensor networks are being deployed that collect climate data via Internet connections. One example is what our Kyrgyzstan Chapter is doing with remote environmental info.
互联网在分享科研数据和信息方面也发挥着巨大作用，比如一些关于气候问题的潜在的解决方案等。科学家们正在利用互联网进行大规模研究，他们在向许多其他研究人员提供他们的信息。而普通人正在参与收集数据的“全民科学”工作，例如这个塞尔维亚的例子。大量通过互联网连接收集气候数据的传感器网络正在部署。比如这个吉尔吉斯斯坦分部利用远程环境信息所做的工作。
IoT infrastructure for monitoring and preventing emergencies in the Kyrgyz Republic. Source: Internet Society Kyrgyzstan Chapter
吉尔吉斯共和国用于监测和预防紧急情况的物联网基础设施。来源：互联网学会吉尔吉斯斯坦分部
In fact, if you look at the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Internet connectivity is critical to so many of them. If we are to have any hope of achieving the SDGs, the Internet is necessary to the communication and collaboration.
事实上，如果你关注联合国的可持续发展目标，就会发现互联网连接对其中许多目标都至关重要。如果我们要实现可持续发展目标，互联网是沟通与合作的必要条件。
We've also seen how the Internet plays a vital role in helping the people responding to disasters, some of which are related to climate change. Organizations such as the International Red Cross, NetHOPE, and the ITDRC all rely on Internet-based communication to help those who are in need.
我们还看到了互联网在帮助人们应对灾害方面发挥着至关重要的作用，其中一些灾害与气候变化有关。国际红十字会、NetHOPE 和 ITDRC 等组织都依靠基于互联网通信系统来帮助那些需要帮助的人。
In all these many ways, the Internet is a force for good helping people respond to our changing climate.
在所有这些方面，互联网是一股有益的力量，帮助人们应对我们不断变化的气候。
How the Internet is Affecting the Climate
互联网如何影响气候
And yet…by its very nature, the Internet needs electricity. The 1s and 0s that make up the fabric of the Internet are signals relayed over electrical wires, optical cables, or radio spectrum. The creation of those 1s and 0s requires power. No power, no Internet.
然而…从本质上讲，互联网需要电力。构成互联网的1和0都是电信号，这些信号通过电线、光缆或无线电进行传输。而且创造这些1和0也需要电。可以说没有电就没有互联网。
How is that power produced? Is it through renewable sources? Or fossil fuels? While remote working may help you reduce your personal impact through commuting, is it just changing the point of pollution to the massive power plants that need to generate more electricity to power our systems and devices?
电是如何产生的？它是通过可再生资源实现的吗？还是化石燃料？虽然远程工作可以避免通勤来减少个人的环境的影响，但它只是将影响地区从家里转移到了发电场了吗？到那些为我们的系统和设备供电的大型发电厂了？
The reality is that the Internet's infrastructure needs power in so many places: the transmission lines, the network routers, the Internet exchange points—even the subsea cables need power for repeaters and landing stations.
现实就是这样，互联网的基础设施在很多地方都需要电力：传输线缆、网络路由器、互联网交换节点——甚至海底电缆中的中继器和接入站也都需要电力支持。
And how much power is needed?
那么需要多少电力呢？
The Internet's network infrastructure has a certain level of need, but even more is needed for the data centers for all the applications, systems, and services. Much has been written about the massive power consumption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and our new favorite AI tools are also massive consumers of power. One estimate is that training a large language model such as ChatGPT-3 consumes as much energy as the yearly consumption of 130 US homes. The demand is straining the power grid in some regions.
互联网的基础设施对电力都有相当大的需求了，但数据中心里的应用程序、系统和服务则需要更多电能。已经有很多文章介绍了关于比特币和其他加密货币的巨大功耗，我们最喜欢的人工智能工具也是一个巨大的电力怪兽。据估计，训练像ChatGPT-3这样的大型语言模型所消耗的能量相当于130个美国家庭的年消耗量。这样大规模的用电量正导致一些地区的电网变得紧张。
But beyond those specific technologies, all our social networks, web hosting, and cloud computing systems need data centers. Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are constantly building more and more data centers to accommodate their rapid growth. Those data centers need power. They need physical space. A recent MIT study indicated that “the cloud” now has a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry, and that “a single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.” The study also cites the enormous cooling costs, the huge volumes of water required, and the noise pollution affecting local communities.
除了这些特定的技术之外，我们所有的社交网络、网络托管和云计算系统都需要数据中心。亚马逊、谷歌、Meta和微软等大公司正在不断建设越来越多的数据中心，以适应他们的快速增长。这些数据中心需要电力，也需要物理空间。麻省理工学院最近的一项研究表明，“云”现在的碳足迹比航空业更大，“一个数据中心可以消耗相当于50000户家庭的电力。”该研究还提到了巨大的冷却成本、所需的大量水以及影响当地社区的噪音污染等。
The Chemetall Foote Lithium Operation in Nevada, US. Source: Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
美国内华达州的Chemetall Foote锂业务。来源：Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
Beyond power and water, all the devices we use, whether they are routers, laptops, or cell phones, require the extraction of minerals and materials to produce the devices. For example, to produce the batteries we all need, lithium mining has a terrible effect on the surrounding area. And when these devices reach the end of their life or are no longer needed, they add to the massive piles of e-waste that are building up globally (something our Zimbabwe chapter is addressing in their country).
除了电力和水，我们使用的所有设备，无论是路由器、笔记本电脑还是手机，都需要提取矿物和材料来生产这些设备。例如，为了生产我们所有人都需要用的电池，锂元素的开采对周围地区有着可怕的影响。当这些设备使用寿命结束或不再需要时，它们会增加全球正在积累的大量电子垃圾（我们津巴布韦分部正在他们的国家解决这一问题）。
Newer connectivity options, too, such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems (e.g., SpaceX’s Starlix, OneWeb) bring new concerns. As we wrote about in our document about LEOs, there are many unanswered questions here: what will the impact be of the constant launching of rockets to add more satellites? As these constellations reach their full deployment, and with LEO satellites only having a five-year lifespan, what will the impact be of 10s or maybe 100s of satellites burning up in our upper atmosphere each week? We simply don’t know.
互联网接入的新途径，如近地轨道（LEO）卫星系统（如SpaceX的星链、OneWeb）也引发了人们新的担忧。正如我们在关于低地球轨道的文件中所写的那样，这里有许多问题没有得到回答：不断发射火箭以增加更多卫星会产生什么影响？这些星链的全面部署后，低轨卫星的寿命只有五年，每周10秒或100秒的卫星在我们的高层大气中燃烧会产生什么影响？我们根本不知道。
In all these many ways, the Internet affects the climate in unhelpful ways.
在上述这些方面，互联网对气候的影响是无益的。
Adapting to Climate Change
适应气候变化
In the face of climate change that is already happening, there is a larger question—how do we ensure the Internet continues to operate?
面对已经发生的气候变化，还有一个更大的问题——我们如何确保互联网的继续运行？
As sea levels rise, what happens to the landing stations for the subsea cables that carry 90+% of our traffic across the Internet? People in the industry have paying attention and doing research, but is it enough?
随着海平面上升，通过互联网传输90%以上流量的海底电缆的接入站会发生什么？业内人士一直在关注和研究，但这是否足够？
With the rise of more extreme weather events around the world, we've seen wildfires destroy all the telecommunications infrastructure of a region. We've seen floods drown out local connectivity options—even this past week in Dubai, in the desert! We've seen massive storms wipe out all the physical infrastructure on islands or in coastal communities.
随着世界各地更多极端天气事件的增加，我们看到火灾摧毁了一个地区的所有电信基础设施，也看到洪水淹没了当地的网络接入器——甚至在过去的一周，在迪拜的沙漠中，我们已经看到大规模风暴摧毁了岛屿或沿海社区的所有的基础设施。
A fascinating—and concerning—recent research paper (direct PDF lix) explored how a “multi-hazard event” could seriously impact connectivity across the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
最近一篇精彩（且令人担忧）的研究论文（PDF直接链接）探讨了“多灾害事件”如何严重影响北美太平洋西北地区的连通性。
How do we defend the Internet against these types of climate changes?
我们如何保护互联网免受这些类型的气候变化的影响？
Working On Solutions
制定解决方案
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and get lost in the feeling of despair, but the good news is that people are working on solutions.
人们很容易感到不知所措，迷失在绝望的感觉中，但好在人们正在研究解决方案。
Regarding mitigating the impact of the Internet on the climate, a few examples include:
关于减轻互联网对气候的影响，比如：
The Green Web Foundation is looking at the impact of web hosting providers
绿色网络基金会正在研究网络托管提供商的影响。
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has chartered an E-Impact Program for “discussing environmental impacts and sustainability of Internet technology”. Participants include people from within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) community, universities, and other groups and communities.
互联网架构委员会（IAB）已批准了一项 E-Impact 计划，以“讨论互联网技术的环境影响和可持续性”。参与者包括来自互联网工程任务组（IETF）社区、大学以及其他团体和社区的人员。
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a new Sustainable Web Community Group developing best practices for building more sustainable websites
万维网联盟（W3C）成立了一个新的可持续网络社区小组，为建立更可持续的网站制定最佳实践
Since 2021, the Internet Society Foundation has awarded grants in their Research program for “Greening the Internet”.
自2021年以来，互联网社会基金会在其“绿色互联网”研究项目中授予拨款。
Many other efforts are underway through a wide range of organizations.
许多其他的工作也正在广泛的组织里进行着。
Adapting the Internet in the face of climate change is an area where I see the need for more research. The Internet Society Foundation’s “Greening the Internet” program has funded some excellent work in this area, but there are still many areas to explore.
面对气候变化，适应互联网是我认为需要更多研究的领域。互联网社会基金会的“绿化互联网”计划资助了这方面的一些优秀工作，但仍有许多领域需要探索。
A key element for adaptation is to develop greater resilience in Internet infrastructure. On our Pulse site, we released the Internet Resilience Index (IRI) that measures the resilience of countries. We recently saw the impact of low resilience in an outage in western Africa where it seems that four subsea cables were laid in the same trench. When there was a suspected undersea rockslide, they were all severed.
适应的一个关键因素是提高互联网基础设施的可恢复能力。在我们的Pulse网站上，我们发布了衡量各国恢复力的互联网恢复力指数（IRI）。我们最近在西非的一次停电中看到了低弹性的影响，那里似乎有四根海底线缆铺设在同一条沟渠中。当疑似海底岩石滑坡时，这四根线缆都被切断了。
Building greater network resilience–at every level of our networks–is a key element of adapting the Internet to continue operations as our climate changes.
在我们网络的各个层面建立更大的网络弹性，是适应互联网在气候变化时继续运营的关键因素。
Taking Action
采取行动
There are many ways you can help:
您可以通过多种方式提供帮助：
Act Locally. Look at your own websites and systems. Use the Green Web Foundation's tool to find out how climate-friendly your hosting providers are. Make changes if you can—or ask questions of your current providers. Consider what options you may have for multiple forms of connectivity.
在当地行动。查看您自己的网站和系统。使用绿色网络基金会的工具来了解您的托管提供商对气候的友好程度。如果可以的话，可自行更改，或者向您当前的供应商咨询。另外考虑多种互联网接入的形式。
Advocate for more resilience. Use our Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index and Country Reports to advocate for increased resilience in your network. Determine if there is a local Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and if not, see if one can be created. Encourage people to develop local community networks in areas that need connectivity. Look at your own networks–in your home and your business or organization–and explore what you can do to make those networks more resilient.
建议提高韧性。使用我们的互联网协会脉搏互联网弹性指数和国家报告来倡导提高网络的弹性。确定是否有本地互联网交换点（IXP），如果没有，看看是否可以创建一个。鼓励人们在需要连接的地区发展当地社区网络。看看你自己的人际网络——在你的家庭、企业或组织中——并探索你能做些什么来提高这些网络的弹性。
Engage in more research. If you are in the academic space or with a research institution, engage in more research around these different aspects of the Internet and climate. Funding is available through the Internet Society Foundation. The deadline is 14 May 2024.
参与更多的研究。如果你在学术领域或研究机构，请围绕互联网和气候的这些不同方面进行更多的研究。互联网协会基金会提供了资金。截止日期为2024年5月14日。
Get involved. The IAB's E-impact program is open to all. Anyone can join the mailing list and participate in that work. Similarly, the W3C's Sustainable Web Community Group is open.
参与进来。IAB的 E-impact 计划对所有人开放。任何人都可以加入邮件列表并参与这项工作。同样，W3C的可持续网络社区小组也是开放的。
Donate. If you are financially able to donate funds, donate to groups working in this area.
捐赠，如果你在经济上有能力的话，可以向在这一领域工作的团体捐款。
Talk about these issues. Many people don't think about these aspects of the Internet. Like air and water, we've grown to take the Internet for granted. When I mention that the Internet's infrastructure could be impacted by climate change (e.g., rising sea levels), I can see the ideas pop into people's brains as new info floods in.
多谈论这些问题。许多人并不考虑互联网的这些方面。就像空气和水一样，我们越来越认为互联网是理所当然的。当我提到互联网的基础设施可能会受到气候变化（例如，海平面上升）的影响时，我可以看到随着这些新信息的涌入，这些想法突然出现在人们的脑海中。
The key to me is really that last point—we need to have these conversations and then move on to action. We need to build more resilience not only in the actual technical infrastructure, but also in the people and communities that keep the Internet operating.
对我来说，关键是最后一点——我们需要进行这些对话，然后采取行动。我们不仅需要在实际的技术基础设施中，而且需要在保持互联网运行的人民和社区中建立更大的弹性。
I'd also love to hear your suggestions. What ideas do you have? What solutions are you seeing to some of these challenges? Feel free to send me an email at york@isoc.org.
我也想听听你的建议。你有什么想法？对于其中的一些挑战您有什么解决方案？请随时发送电子邮件至york@isoc.org.
Our vision is that the Internet is for everyone. We want to ensure that everyone can access the Internet, both now and in the future. On this Earth Day—and every day—we need to look at how we can minimize the Internet’s impact on the climate, how we can protect the Internet’s infrastructure from the ongoing changes, and perhaps more than anything else, how we can use the Internet as a force for good as we as a society search for climate solutions.
我们的愿景是互联网是为每个人服务的。我们希望确保每个人都能访问互联网，无论是现在还是将来。在这个地球日，以及每一天，我们都需要研究如何最大限度地减少互联网对气候的影响，如何保护互联网的基础设施免受持续变化的影响，也许最重要的是，我们如何在社会寻求气候解决方案的同时，将互联网作为一种有益的力量。
评论翻译
As we celebrate Earth Day 2024, the world seems to be on fire. Quite literally with some regions battling extreme wildfires, while other regions are drowning under massive flooding. Sea levels are rising, temperatures are climbing, and ice is melting. Amid all of this, it’s worth pausing and thinking about the Internet's relationship with climate change.
2024年世界地球日，这天整个世界好像都被架到了火上。一些地区在应对凶猛的火灾，也有一些地区却正遭受洪水的侵袭。气温不断在升高，冰川不断在融化，海平面也不断在上升。在这些变化之中，我们也值得停下来想一想，气候变化与互联网是否也有关系呢？
The reality is…it's complicated.
现实……很复杂。
On the one hand, the Internet is a tremendous force for good in helping reduce the greenhouse gases we may individually create and in connecting all the people working on climate solutions around the world. On the other hand, by its very nature, the Internet requires electricity to operate, and the devices we all use require the extraction of minerals and create vast amounts of e-waste. And, in the face of climate change, the Internet’s infrastructure needs our help to be able to continue to operate.
一方面，互联网在气候方面发挥了巨大的作用，它不仅有助于减少我们个人可能产生的温室气体，还让世界上所有致力于解决气候问题的人们联系了起来。但另一方面，互联网本身需要电力才能运行，我们使用的（互联网相关的）设备也需要提取矿物才能生产出来，并将在未来产生大量的电子垃圾。而且，互联网的基础设施也需要我们的帮助才能应对气候的变化。
It's complicated.
这很复杂。
How the Internet is Helping Address Climate Change
互联网如何帮助应对气候变化
If we just think back a couple of years to the height of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, we saw exactly how the Internet was a lifeline for us all. Working remotely from our own homes or other locations, we were able to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create. All without traveling and generating any of the climate impact associated with travel. A fascinating thing happened in that some cities had clean air for the first time in years. Less fossil fuels were consumed. People learned how the Internet could be used to reduce our commuting and air travel. While many have returned to commuting to offices and traveling (and the air pollution has returned, too), some people have continued working remotely, at least part of the time. We've seen how the Internet can help us reduce our own impact on the climate in this way.
回想两年前新冠疫情高峰期的各种封锁，我们深刻地认识到互联网对我们所有人来说是一条生命线。在家或其他地方远程工作时，我们能够互相连接、沟通、协作和创造。所有这些都不需要出行，也不会产生与之相关的气候影响。令人惊讶的是，一些城市的空气多年以来首次干净了。化石燃料的消耗减少了。人们学会了如何利用互联网减少通勤和长距离出行。虽然许多人已经恢复了通勤和长途旅行（空气污染也卷土重来），但一些人仍然在远程工作，至少一部分时间是这样。通过这种方式，我们感受到了互联网如何帮助我们减少对气候的影响。
The Internet also plays an enormous role in the sharing of scientific data and information about potential solutions to climate challenges. Scientists are collaborating using the Internet to engage in large-scale studies. They're making their information available to many other researchers. Regular people are getting involved in “citizen science” efforts that are collecting data, such as this example in Serbia. Vast sensor networks are being deployed that collect climate data via Internet connections. One example is what our Kyrgyzstan Chapter is doing with remote environmental info.
互联网在分享科研数据和信息方面也发挥着巨大作用，比如一些关于气候问题的潜在的解决方案等。科学家们正在利用互联网进行大规模研究，他们在向许多其他研究人员提供他们的信息。而普通人正在参与收集数据的“全民科学”工作，例如这个塞尔维亚的例子。大量通过互联网连接收集气候数据的传感器网络正在部署。比如这个吉尔吉斯斯坦分部利用远程环境信息所做的工作。
IoT infrastructure for monitoring and preventing emergencies in the Kyrgyz Republic. Source: Internet Society Kyrgyzstan Chapter
吉尔吉斯共和国用于监测和预防紧急情况的物联网基础设施。来源：互联网学会吉尔吉斯斯坦分部
In fact, if you look at the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Internet connectivity is critical to so many of them. If we are to have any hope of achieving the SDGs, the Internet is necessary to the communication and collaboration.
事实上，如果你关注联合国的可持续发展目标，就会发现互联网连接对其中许多目标都至关重要。如果我们要实现可持续发展目标，互联网是沟通与合作的必要条件。
We've also seen how the Internet plays a vital role in helping the people responding to disasters, some of which are related to climate change. Organizations such as the International Red Cross, NetHOPE, and the ITDRC all rely on Internet-based communication to help those who are in need.
我们还看到了互联网在帮助人们应对灾害方面发挥着至关重要的作用，其中一些灾害与气候变化有关。国际红十字会、NetHOPE 和 ITDRC 等组织都依靠基于互联网通信系统来帮助那些需要帮助的人。
In all these many ways, the Internet is a force for good helping people respond to our changing climate.
在所有这些方面，互联网是一股有益的力量，帮助人们应对我们不断变化的气候。
How the Internet is Affecting the Climate
互联网如何影响气候
And yet…by its very nature, the Internet needs electricity. The 1s and 0s that make up the fabric of the Internet are signals relayed over electrical wires, optical cables, or radio spectrum. The creation of those 1s and 0s requires power. No power, no Internet.
然而…从本质上讲，互联网需要电力。构成互联网的1和0都是电信号，这些信号通过电线、光缆或无线电进行传输。而且创造这些1和0也需要电。可以说没有电就没有互联网。
How is that power produced? Is it through renewable sources? Or fossil fuels? While remote working may help you reduce your personal impact through commuting, is it just changing the point of pollution to the massive power plants that need to generate more electricity to power our systems and devices?
电是如何产生的？它是通过可再生资源实现的吗？还是化石燃料？虽然远程工作可以避免通勤来减少个人的环境的影响，但它只是将影响地区从家里转移到了发电场了吗？到那些为我们的系统和设备供电的大型发电厂了？
The reality is that the Internet's infrastructure needs power in so many places: the transmission lines, the network routers, the Internet exchange points—even the subsea cables need power for repeaters and landing stations.
现实就是这样，互联网的基础设施在很多地方都需要电力：传输线缆、网络路由器、互联网交换节点——甚至海底电缆中的中继器和接入站也都需要电力支持。
And how much power is needed?
那么需要多少电力呢？
The Internet's network infrastructure has a certain level of need, but even more is needed for the data centers for all the applications, systems, and services. Much has been written about the massive power consumption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and our new favorite AI tools are also massive consumers of power. One estimate is that training a large language model such as ChatGPT-3 consumes as much energy as the yearly consumption of 130 US homes. The demand is straining the power grid in some regions.
互联网的基础设施对电力都有相当大的需求了，但数据中心里的应用程序、系统和服务则需要更多电能。已经有很多文章介绍了关于比特币和其他加密货币的巨大功耗，我们最喜欢的人工智能工具也是一个巨大的电力怪兽。据估计，训练像ChatGPT-3这样的大型语言模型所消耗的能量相当于130个美国家庭的年消耗量。这样大规模的用电量正导致一些地区的电网变得紧张。
But beyond those specific technologies, all our social networks, web hosting, and cloud computing systems need data centers. Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are constantly building more and more data centers to accommodate their rapid growth. Those data centers need power. They need physical space. A recent MIT study indicated that “the cloud” now has a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry, and that “a single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.” The study also cites the enormous cooling costs, the huge volumes of water required, and the noise pollution affecting local communities.
除了这些特定的技术之外，我们所有的社交网络、网络托管和云计算系统都需要数据中心。亚马逊、谷歌、Meta和微软等大公司正在不断建设越来越多的数据中心，以适应他们的快速增长。这些数据中心需要电力，也需要物理空间。麻省理工学院最近的一项研究表明，“云”现在的碳足迹比航空业更大，“一个数据中心可以消耗相当于50000户家庭的电力。”该研究还提到了巨大的冷却成本、所需的大量水以及影响当地社区的噪音污染等。
The Chemetall Foote Lithium Operation in Nevada, US. Source: Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
美国内华达州的Chemetall Foote锂业务。来源：Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
Beyond power and water, all the devices we use, whether they are routers, laptops, or cell phones, require the extraction of minerals and materials to produce the devices. For example, to produce the batteries we all need, lithium mining has a terrible effect on the surrounding area. And when these devices reach the end of their life or are no longer needed, they add to the massive piles of e-waste that are building up globally (something our Zimbabwe chapter is addressing in their country).
除了电力和水，我们使用的所有设备，无论是路由器、笔记本电脑还是手机，都需要提取矿物和材料来生产这些设备。例如，为了生产我们所有人都需要用的电池，锂元素的开采对周围地区有着可怕的影响。当这些设备使用寿命结束或不再需要时，它们会增加全球正在积累的大量电子垃圾（我们津巴布韦分部正在他们的国家解决这一问题）。
Newer connectivity options, too, such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems (e.g., SpaceX’s Starlix, OneWeb) bring new concerns. As we wrote about in our document about LEOs, there are many unanswered questions here: what will the impact be of the constant launching of rockets to add more satellites? As these constellations reach their full deployment, and with LEO satellites only having a five-year lifespan, what will the impact be of 10s or maybe 100s of satellites burning up in our upper atmosphere each week? We simply don’t know.
互联网接入的新途径，如近地轨道（LEO）卫星系统（如SpaceX的星链、OneWeb）也引发了人们新的担忧。正如我们在关于低地球轨道的文件中所写的那样，这里有许多问题没有得到回答：不断发射火箭以增加更多卫星会产生什么影响？这些星链的全面部署后，低轨卫星的寿命只有五年，每周10秒或100秒的卫星在我们的高层大气中燃烧会产生什么影响？我们根本不知道。
In all these many ways, the Internet affects the climate in unhelpful ways.
在上述这些方面，互联网对气候的影响是无益的。
Adapting to Climate Change
适应气候变化
In the face of climate change that is already happening, there is a larger question—how do we ensure the Internet continues to operate?
面对已经发生的气候变化，还有一个更大的问题——我们如何确保互联网的继续运行？
As sea levels rise, what happens to the landing stations for the subsea cables that carry 90+% of our traffic across the Internet? People in the industry have paying attention and doing research, but is it enough?
随着海平面上升，通过互联网传输90%以上流量的海底电缆的接入站会发生什么？业内人士一直在关注和研究，但这是否足够？
With the rise of more extreme weather events around the world, we've seen wildfires destroy all the telecommunications infrastructure of a region. We've seen floods drown out local connectivity options—even this past week in Dubai, in the desert! We've seen massive storms wipe out all the physical infrastructure on islands or in coastal communities.
随着世界各地更多极端天气事件的增加，我们看到火灾摧毁了一个地区的所有电信基础设施，也看到洪水淹没了当地的网络接入器——甚至在过去的一周，在迪拜的沙漠中，我们已经看到大规模风暴摧毁了岛屿或沿海社区的所有的基础设施。
A fascinating—and concerning—recent research paper (direct PDF lix) explored how a “multi-hazard event” could seriously impact connectivity across the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
最近一篇精彩（且令人担忧）的研究论文（PDF直接链接）探讨了“多灾害事件”如何严重影响北美太平洋西北地区的连通性。
How do we defend the Internet against these types of climate changes?
我们如何保护互联网免受这些类型的气候变化的影响？
Working On Solutions
制定解决方案
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and get lost in the feeling of despair, but the good news is that people are working on solutions.
人们很容易感到不知所措，迷失在绝望的感觉中，但好在人们正在研究解决方案。
Regarding mitigating the impact of the Internet on the climate, a few examples include:
关于减轻互联网对气候的影响，比如：
The Green Web Foundation is looking at the impact of web hosting providers
绿色网络基金会正在研究网络托管提供商的影响。
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has chartered an E-Impact Program for “discussing environmental impacts and sustainability of Internet technology”. Participants include people from within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) community, universities, and other groups and communities.
互联网架构委员会（IAB）已批准了一项 E-Impact 计划，以“讨论互联网技术的环境影响和可持续性”。参与者包括来自互联网工程任务组（IETF）社区、大学以及其他团体和社区的人员。
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a new Sustainable Web Community Group developing best practices for building more sustainable websites
万维网联盟（W3C）成立了一个新的可持续网络社区小组，为建立更可持续的网站制定最佳实践
Since 2021, the Internet Society Foundation has awarded grants in their Research program for “Greening the Internet”.
自2021年以来，互联网社会基金会在其“绿色互联网”研究项目中授予拨款。
Many other efforts are underway through a wide range of organizations.
许多其他的工作也正在广泛的组织里进行着。
Adapting the Internet in the face of climate change is an area where I see the need for more research. The Internet Society Foundation’s “Greening the Internet” program has funded some excellent work in this area, but there are still many areas to explore.
面对气候变化，适应互联网是我认为需要更多研究的领域。互联网社会基金会的“绿化互联网”计划资助了这方面的一些优秀工作，但仍有许多领域需要探索。
A key element for adaptation is to develop greater resilience in Internet infrastructure. On our Pulse site, we released the Internet Resilience Index (IRI) that measures the resilience of countries. We recently saw the impact of low resilience in an outage in western Africa where it seems that four subsea cables were laid in the same trench. When there was a suspected undersea rockslide, they were all severed.
适应的一个关键因素是提高互联网基础设施的可恢复能力。在我们的Pulse网站上，我们发布了衡量各国恢复力的互联网恢复力指数（IRI）。我们最近在西非的一次停电中看到了低弹性的影响，那里似乎有四根海底线缆铺设在同一条沟渠中。当疑似海底岩石滑坡时，这四根线缆都被切断了。
Building greater network resilience–at every level of our networks–is a key element of adapting the Internet to continue operations as our climate changes.
在我们网络的各个层面建立更大的网络弹性，是适应互联网在气候变化时继续运营的关键因素。
Taking Action
采取行动
There are many ways you can help:
您可以通过多种方式提供帮助：
Act Locally. Look at your own websites and systems. Use the Green Web Foundation's tool to find out how climate-friendly your hosting providers are. Make changes if you can—or ask questions of your current providers. Consider what options you may have for multiple forms of connectivity.
在当地行动。查看您自己的网站和系统。使用绿色网络基金会的工具来了解您的托管提供商对气候的友好程度。如果可以的话，可自行更改，或者向您当前的供应商咨询。另外考虑多种互联网接入的形式。
Advocate for more resilience. Use our Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index and Country Reports to advocate for increased resilience in your network. Determine if there is a local Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and if not, see if one can be created. Encourage people to develop local community networks in areas that need connectivity. Look at your own networks–in your home and your business or organization–and explore what you can do to make those networks more resilient.
建议提高韧性。使用我们的互联网协会脉搏互联网弹性指数和国家报告来倡导提高网络的弹性。确定是否有本地互联网交换点（IXP），如果没有，看看是否可以创建一个。鼓励人们在需要连接的地区发展当地社区网络。看看你自己的人际网络——在你的家庭、企业或组织中——并探索你能做些什么来提高这些网络的弹性。
Engage in more research. If you are in the academic space or with a research institution, engage in more research around these different aspects of the Internet and climate. Funding is available through the Internet Society Foundation. The deadline is 14 May 2024.
参与更多的研究。如果你在学术领域或研究机构，请围绕互联网和气候的这些不同方面进行更多的研究。互联网协会基金会提供了资金。截止日期为2024年5月14日。
Get involved. The IAB's E-impact program is open to all. Anyone can join the mailing list and participate in that work. Similarly, the W3C's Sustainable Web Community Group is open.
参与进来。IAB的 E-impact 计划对所有人开放。任何人都可以加入邮件列表并参与这项工作。同样，W3C的可持续网络社区小组也是开放的。
Donate. If you are financially able to donate funds, donate to groups working in this area.
捐赠，如果你在经济上有能力的话，可以向在这一领域工作的团体捐款。
Talk about these issues. Many people don't think about these aspects of the Internet. Like air and water, we've grown to take the Internet for granted. When I mention that the Internet's infrastructure could be impacted by climate change (e.g., rising sea levels), I can see the ideas pop into people's brains as new info floods in.
多谈论这些问题。许多人并不考虑互联网的这些方面。就像空气和水一样，我们越来越认为互联网是理所当然的。当我提到互联网的基础设施可能会受到气候变化（例如，海平面上升）的影响时，我可以看到随着这些新信息的涌入，这些想法突然出现在人们的脑海中。
The key to me is really that last point—we need to have these conversations and then move on to action. We need to build more resilience not only in the actual technical infrastructure, but also in the people and communities that keep the Internet operating.
对我来说，关键是最后一点——我们需要进行这些对话，然后采取行动。我们不仅需要在实际的技术基础设施中，而且需要在保持互联网运行的人民和社区中建立更大的弹性。
I'd also love to hear your suggestions. What ideas do you have? What solutions are you seeing to some of these challenges? Feel free to send me an email at york@isoc.org.
我也想听听你的建议。你有什么想法？对于其中的一些挑战您有什么解决方案？请随时发送电子邮件至york@isoc.org.
Our vision is that the Internet is for everyone. We want to ensure that everyone can access the Internet, both now and in the future. On this Earth Day—and every day—we need to look at how we can minimize the Internet’s impact on the climate, how we can protect the Internet’s infrastructure from the ongoing changes, and perhaps more than anything else, how we can use the Internet as a force for good as we as a society search for climate solutions.
我们的愿景是互联网是为每个人服务的。我们希望确保每个人都能访问互联网，无论是现在还是将来。在这个地球日，以及每一天，我们都需要研究如何最大限度地减少互联网对气候的影响，如何保护互联网的基础设施免受持续变化的影响，也许最重要的是，我们如何在社会寻求气候解决方案的同时，将互联网作为一种有益的力量。
2024年世界地球日，这天整个世界好像都被架到了火上。一些地区在应对凶猛的火灾，也有一些地区却正遭受洪水的侵袭。气温不断在升高，冰川不断在融化，海平面也不断在上升。在这些变化之中，我们也值得停下来想一想，气候变化与互联网是否也有关系呢？
The reality is…it's complicated.
现实……很复杂。
On the one hand, the Internet is a tremendous force for good in helping reduce the greenhouse gases we may individually create and in connecting all the people working on climate solutions around the world. On the other hand, by its very nature, the Internet requires electricity to operate, and the devices we all use require the extraction of minerals and create vast amounts of e-waste. And, in the face of climate change, the Internet’s infrastructure needs our help to be able to continue to operate.
一方面，互联网在气候方面发挥了巨大的作用，它不仅有助于减少我们个人可能产生的温室气体，还让世界上所有致力于解决气候问题的人们联系了起来。但另一方面，互联网本身需要电力才能运行，我们使用的（互联网相关的）设备也需要提取矿物才能生产出来，并将在未来产生大量的电子垃圾。而且，互联网的基础设施也需要我们的帮助才能应对气候的变化。
It's complicated.
这很复杂。
How the Internet is Helping Address Climate Change
互联网如何帮助应对气候变化
If we just think back a couple of years to the height of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, we saw exactly how the Internet was a lifeline for us all. Working remotely from our own homes or other locations, we were able to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create. All without traveling and generating any of the climate impact associated with travel. A fascinating thing happened in that some cities had clean air for the first time in years. Less fossil fuels were consumed. People learned how the Internet could be used to reduce our commuting and air travel. While many have returned to commuting to offices and traveling (and the air pollution has returned, too), some people have continued working remotely, at least part of the time. We've seen how the Internet can help us reduce our own impact on the climate in this way.
回想两年前新冠疫情高峰期的各种封锁，我们深刻地认识到互联网对我们所有人来说是一条生命线。在家或其他地方远程工作时，我们能够互相连接、沟通、协作和创造。所有这些都不需要出行，也不会产生与之相关的气候影响。令人惊讶的是，一些城市的空气多年以来首次干净了。化石燃料的消耗减少了。人们学会了如何利用互联网减少通勤和长距离出行。虽然许多人已经恢复了通勤和长途旅行（空气污染也卷土重来），但一些人仍然在远程工作，至少一部分时间是这样。通过这种方式，我们感受到了互联网如何帮助我们减少对气候的影响。
The Internet also plays an enormous role in the sharing of scientific data and information about potential solutions to climate challenges. Scientists are collaborating using the Internet to engage in large-scale studies. They're making their information available to many other researchers. Regular people are getting involved in “citizen science” efforts that are collecting data, such as this example in Serbia. Vast sensor networks are being deployed that collect climate data via Internet connections. One example is what our Kyrgyzstan Chapter is doing with remote environmental info.
互联网在分享科研数据和信息方面也发挥着巨大作用，比如一些关于气候问题的潜在的解决方案等。科学家们正在利用互联网进行大规模研究，他们在向许多其他研究人员提供他们的信息。而普通人正在参与收集数据的“全民科学”工作，例如这个塞尔维亚的例子。大量通过互联网连接收集气候数据的传感器网络正在部署。比如这个吉尔吉斯斯坦分部利用远程环境信息所做的工作。
IoT infrastructure for monitoring and preventing emergencies in the Kyrgyz Republic. Source: Internet Society Kyrgyzstan Chapter
吉尔吉斯共和国用于监测和预防紧急情况的物联网基础设施。来源：互联网学会吉尔吉斯斯坦分部
In fact, if you look at the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Internet connectivity is critical to so many of them. If we are to have any hope of achieving the SDGs, the Internet is necessary to the communication and collaboration.
事实上，如果你关注联合国的可持续发展目标，就会发现互联网连接对其中许多目标都至关重要。如果我们要实现可持续发展目标，互联网是沟通与合作的必要条件。
We've also seen how the Internet plays a vital role in helping the people responding to disasters, some of which are related to climate change. Organizations such as the International Red Cross, NetHOPE, and the ITDRC all rely on Internet-based communication to help those who are in need.
我们还看到了互联网在帮助人们应对灾害方面发挥着至关重要的作用，其中一些灾害与气候变化有关。国际红十字会、NetHOPE 和 ITDRC 等组织都依靠基于互联网通信系统来帮助那些需要帮助的人。
In all these many ways, the Internet is a force for good helping people respond to our changing climate.
在所有这些方面，互联网是一股有益的力量，帮助人们应对我们不断变化的气候。
How the Internet is Affecting the Climate
互联网如何影响气候
And yet…by its very nature, the Internet needs electricity. The 1s and 0s that make up the fabric of the Internet are signals relayed over electrical wires, optical cables, or radio spectrum. The creation of those 1s and 0s requires power. No power, no Internet.
然而…从本质上讲，互联网需要电力。构成互联网的1和0都是电信号，这些信号通过电线、光缆或无线电进行传输。而且创造这些1和0也需要电。可以说没有电就没有互联网。
How is that power produced? Is it through renewable sources? Or fossil fuels? While remote working may help you reduce your personal impact through commuting, is it just changing the point of pollution to the massive power plants that need to generate more electricity to power our systems and devices?
电是如何产生的？它是通过可再生资源实现的吗？还是化石燃料？虽然远程工作可以避免通勤来减少个人的环境的影响，但它只是将影响地区从家里转移到了发电场了吗？到那些为我们的系统和设备供电的大型发电厂了？
The reality is that the Internet's infrastructure needs power in so many places: the transmission lines, the network routers, the Internet exchange points—even the subsea cables need power for repeaters and landing stations.
现实就是这样，互联网的基础设施在很多地方都需要电力：传输线缆、网络路由器、互联网交换节点——甚至海底电缆中的中继器和接入站也都需要电力支持。
And how much power is needed?
那么需要多少电力呢？
The Internet's network infrastructure has a certain level of need, but even more is needed for the data centers for all the applications, systems, and services. Much has been written about the massive power consumption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and our new favorite AI tools are also massive consumers of power. One estimate is that training a large language model such as ChatGPT-3 consumes as much energy as the yearly consumption of 130 US homes. The demand is straining the power grid in some regions.
互联网的基础设施对电力都有相当大的需求了，但数据中心里的应用程序、系统和服务则需要更多电能。已经有很多文章介绍了关于比特币和其他加密货币的巨大功耗，我们最喜欢的人工智能工具也是一个巨大的电力怪兽。据估计，训练像ChatGPT-3这样的大型语言模型所消耗的能量相当于130个美国家庭的年消耗量。这样大规模的用电量正导致一些地区的电网变得紧张。
But beyond those specific technologies, all our social networks, web hosting, and cloud computing systems need data centers. Large companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are constantly building more and more data centers to accommodate their rapid growth. Those data centers need power. They need physical space. A recent MIT study indicated that “the cloud” now has a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry, and that “a single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.” The study also cites the enormous cooling costs, the huge volumes of water required, and the noise pollution affecting local communities.
除了这些特定的技术之外，我们所有的社交网络、网络托管和云计算系统都需要数据中心。亚马逊、谷歌、Meta和微软等大公司正在不断建设越来越多的数据中心，以适应他们的快速增长。这些数据中心需要电力，也需要物理空间。麻省理工学院最近的一项研究表明，“云”现在的碳足迹比航空业更大，“一个数据中心可以消耗相当于50000户家庭的电力。”该研究还提到了巨大的冷却成本、所需的大量水以及影响当地社区的噪音污染等。
The Chemetall Foote Lithium Operation in Nevada, US. Source: Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
美国内华达州的Chemetall Foote锂业务。来源：Doc Searls via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
Beyond power and water, all the devices we use, whether they are routers, laptops, or cell phones, require the extraction of minerals and materials to produce the devices. For example, to produce the batteries we all need, lithium mining has a terrible effect on the surrounding area. And when these devices reach the end of their life or are no longer needed, they add to the massive piles of e-waste that are building up globally (something our Zimbabwe chapter is addressing in their country).
除了电力和水，我们使用的所有设备，无论是路由器、笔记本电脑还是手机，都需要提取矿物和材料来生产这些设备。例如，为了生产我们所有人都需要用的电池，锂元素的开采对周围地区有着可怕的影响。当这些设备使用寿命结束或不再需要时，它们会增加全球正在积累的大量电子垃圾（我们津巴布韦分部正在他们的国家解决这一问题）。
Newer connectivity options, too, such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems (e.g., SpaceX’s Starlix, OneWeb) bring new concerns. As we wrote about in our document about LEOs, there are many unanswered questions here: what will the impact be of the constant launching of rockets to add more satellites? As these constellations reach their full deployment, and with LEO satellites only having a five-year lifespan, what will the impact be of 10s or maybe 100s of satellites burning up in our upper atmosphere each week? We simply don’t know.
互联网接入的新途径，如近地轨道（LEO）卫星系统（如SpaceX的星链、OneWeb）也引发了人们新的担忧。正如我们在关于低地球轨道的文件中所写的那样，这里有许多问题没有得到回答：不断发射火箭以增加更多卫星会产生什么影响？这些星链的全面部署后，低轨卫星的寿命只有五年，每周10秒或100秒的卫星在我们的高层大气中燃烧会产生什么影响？我们根本不知道。
In all these many ways, the Internet affects the climate in unhelpful ways.
在上述这些方面，互联网对气候的影响是无益的。
Adapting to Climate Change
适应气候变化
In the face of climate change that is already happening, there is a larger question—how do we ensure the Internet continues to operate?
面对已经发生的气候变化，还有一个更大的问题——我们如何确保互联网的继续运行？
As sea levels rise, what happens to the landing stations for the subsea cables that carry 90+% of our traffic across the Internet? People in the industry have paying attention and doing research, but is it enough?
随着海平面上升，通过互联网传输90%以上流量的海底电缆的接入站会发生什么？业内人士一直在关注和研究，但这是否足够？
With the rise of more extreme weather events around the world, we've seen wildfires destroy all the telecommunications infrastructure of a region. We've seen floods drown out local connectivity options—even this past week in Dubai, in the desert! We've seen massive storms wipe out all the physical infrastructure on islands or in coastal communities.
随着世界各地更多极端天气事件的增加，我们看到火灾摧毁了一个地区的所有电信基础设施，也看到洪水淹没了当地的网络接入器——甚至在过去的一周，在迪拜的沙漠中，我们已经看到大规模风暴摧毁了岛屿或沿海社区的所有的基础设施。
A fascinating—and concerning—recent research paper (direct PDF lix) explored how a “multi-hazard event” could seriously impact connectivity across the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
最近一篇精彩（且令人担忧）的研究论文（PDF直接链接）探讨了“多灾害事件”如何严重影响北美太平洋西北地区的连通性。
How do we defend the Internet against these types of climate changes?
我们如何保护互联网免受这些类型的气候变化的影响？
Working On Solutions
制定解决方案
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and get lost in the feeling of despair, but the good news is that people are working on solutions.
人们很容易感到不知所措，迷失在绝望的感觉中，但好在人们正在研究解决方案。
Regarding mitigating the impact of the Internet on the climate, a few examples include:
关于减轻互联网对气候的影响，比如：
The Green Web Foundation is looking at the impact of web hosting providers
绿色网络基金会正在研究网络托管提供商的影响。
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has chartered an E-Impact Program for “discussing environmental impacts and sustainability of Internet technology”. Participants include people from within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) community, universities, and other groups and communities.
互联网架构委员会（IAB）已批准了一项 E-Impact 计划，以“讨论互联网技术的环境影响和可持续性”。参与者包括来自互联网工程任务组（IETF）社区、大学以及其他团体和社区的人员。
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a new Sustainable Web Community Group developing best practices for building more sustainable websites
万维网联盟（W3C）成立了一个新的可持续网络社区小组，为建立更可持续的网站制定最佳实践
Since 2021, the Internet Society Foundation has awarded grants in their Research program for “Greening the Internet”.
自2021年以来，互联网社会基金会在其“绿色互联网”研究项目中授予拨款。
Many other efforts are underway through a wide range of organizations.
许多其他的工作也正在广泛的组织里进行着。
Adapting the Internet in the face of climate change is an area where I see the need for more research. The Internet Society Foundation’s “Greening the Internet” program has funded some excellent work in this area, but there are still many areas to explore.
面对气候变化，适应互联网是我认为需要更多研究的领域。互联网社会基金会的“绿化互联网”计划资助了这方面的一些优秀工作，但仍有许多领域需要探索。
A key element for adaptation is to develop greater resilience in Internet infrastructure. On our Pulse site, we released the Internet Resilience Index (IRI) that measures the resilience of countries. We recently saw the impact of low resilience in an outage in western Africa where it seems that four subsea cables were laid in the same trench. When there was a suspected undersea rockslide, they were all severed.
适应的一个关键因素是提高互联网基础设施的可恢复能力。在我们的Pulse网站上，我们发布了衡量各国恢复力的互联网恢复力指数（IRI）。我们最近在西非的一次停电中看到了低弹性的影响，那里似乎有四根海底线缆铺设在同一条沟渠中。当疑似海底岩石滑坡时，这四根线缆都被切断了。
Building greater network resilience–at every level of our networks–is a key element of adapting the Internet to continue operations as our climate changes.
在我们网络的各个层面建立更大的网络弹性，是适应互联网在气候变化时继续运营的关键因素。
Taking Action
采取行动
There are many ways you can help:
您可以通过多种方式提供帮助：
Act Locally. Look at your own websites and systems. Use the Green Web Foundation's tool to find out how climate-friendly your hosting providers are. Make changes if you can—or ask questions of your current providers. Consider what options you may have for multiple forms of connectivity.
在当地行动。查看您自己的网站和系统。使用绿色网络基金会的工具来了解您的托管提供商对气候的友好程度。如果可以的话，可自行更改，或者向您当前的供应商咨询。另外考虑多种互联网接入的形式。
Advocate for more resilience. Use our Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index and Country Reports to advocate for increased resilience in your network. Determine if there is a local Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and if not, see if one can be created. Encourage people to develop local community networks in areas that need connectivity. Look at your own networks–in your home and your business or organization–and explore what you can do to make those networks more resilient.
建议提高韧性。使用我们的互联网协会脉搏互联网弹性指数和国家报告来倡导提高网络的弹性。确定是否有本地互联网交换点（IXP），如果没有，看看是否可以创建一个。鼓励人们在需要连接的地区发展当地社区网络。看看你自己的人际网络——在你的家庭、企业或组织中——并探索你能做些什么来提高这些网络的弹性。
Engage in more research. If you are in the academic space or with a research institution, engage in more research around these different aspects of the Internet and climate. Funding is available through the Internet Society Foundation. The deadline is 14 May 2024.
参与更多的研究。如果你在学术领域或研究机构，请围绕互联网和气候的这些不同方面进行更多的研究。互联网协会基金会提供了资金。截止日期为2024年5月14日。
Get involved. The IAB's E-impact program is open to all. Anyone can join the mailing list and participate in that work. Similarly, the W3C's Sustainable Web Community Group is open.
参与进来。IAB的 E-impact 计划对所有人开放。任何人都可以加入邮件列表并参与这项工作。同样，W3C的可持续网络社区小组也是开放的。
Donate. If you are financially able to donate funds, donate to groups working in this area.
捐赠，如果你在经济上有能力的话，可以向在这一领域工作的团体捐款。
Talk about these issues. Many people don't think about these aspects of the Internet. Like air and water, we've grown to take the Internet for granted. When I mention that the Internet's infrastructure could be impacted by climate change (e.g., rising sea levels), I can see the ideas pop into people's brains as new info floods in.
多谈论这些问题。许多人并不考虑互联网的这些方面。就像空气和水一样，我们越来越认为互联网是理所当然的。当我提到互联网的基础设施可能会受到气候变化（例如，海平面上升）的影响时，我可以看到随着这些新信息的涌入，这些想法突然出现在人们的脑海中。
The key to me is really that last point—we need to have these conversations and then move on to action. We need to build more resilience not only in the actual technical infrastructure, but also in the people and communities that keep the Internet operating.
对我来说，关键是最后一点——我们需要进行这些对话，然后采取行动。我们不仅需要在实际的技术基础设施中，而且需要在保持互联网运行的人民和社区中建立更大的弹性。
I'd also love to hear your suggestions. What ideas do you have? What solutions are you seeing to some of these challenges? Feel free to send me an email at york@isoc.org.
我也想听听你的建议。你有什么想法？对于其中的一些挑战您有什么解决方案？请随时发送电子邮件至york@isoc.org.
Our vision is that the Internet is for everyone. We want to ensure that everyone can access the Internet, both now and in the future. On this Earth Day—and every day—we need to look at how we can minimize the Internet’s impact on the climate, how we can protect the Internet’s infrastructure from the ongoing changes, and perhaps more than anything else, how we can use the Internet as a force for good as we as a society search for climate solutions.
我们的愿景是互联网是为每个人服务的。我们希望确保每个人都能访问互联网，无论是现在还是将来。在这个地球日，以及每一天，我们都需要研究如何最大限度地减少互联网对气候的影响，如何保护互联网的基础设施免受持续变化的影响，也许最重要的是，我们如何在社会寻求气候解决方案的同时，将互联网作为一种有益的力量。
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