This link has been bookmarked by 76 people . It was first bookmarked on 06 Jun 2007, by Will Richardson.
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Un personnage de Second Life consomme en une année 10 x plus d'électricité qu'un camerounais !
blog article virtual avatar energy green internet community electricity secondlife
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Konrad GlogowskiAnnotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roughtype.com%2Farchives%2F2006%2F12%2Favatars_consume.php
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Which, annualized, gives us 1,752 kWh. So an avatar consumes 1,752 kWh per year. By comparison, the average human, on a worldwide basis, consumes 2,436 kWh per year. So there you have it: an avatar consumes a bit less energy than a real person, though they're in the same ballpark.
Now, if we limit the comparison to developed countries, where per-capita energy consumption is 7,702 kWh a year, the avatars appear considerably less energy hungry than the humans. But if we look at developing countries, where per-capita consumption is 1,015 kWh, we find that avatars burn through considerably more electricity than people do.
More narrowly still, the average citizen of Brazil consumes 1,884 kWh, which, given the fact that my avatar estimate was rough and conservative, means that your average Second Life avatar consumes about as much electricity as your average Brazilian.
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Jill ONeill2006 entry about power consumption in support of immersive virtual worlds
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Lynne Jones"Tony Walsh has, as others do, some doubts about whether Second Life is sustainable as a business. But he also poses another question that I hadn't come across before: "Is Second Life sustainable ecologically?"
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Leigh BlackallTony Walsh has, as others do, some doubts about whether Second Life is sustainable as a business. But he also poses another question that I hadn't come across before: "Is Second Life sustainable ecologically?"
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26 Aug 08
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Kevin Lim"Which means, in turn, that avatars aren't quite as intangible as they seem. They don't have bodies, but they do leave (carbon) footprints."
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06 May 08
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30 Apr 08
Peter HughesDoes a second life make your carbon footprint twice as big as your first life's footprint? Almost...
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Walsh notes that on average there are between 10,000 and 15,000 avatars in Second Life at any given time, a number that's growing rapidly. He wonders: "How much power do 15,000 human beings consume daily compared to 15,000 avatars?" Hmm. That's an interesting question.
So let's do the math.
If there are on average between 10,000 and 15,000 avatars "living" in Second Life at any point, that means the world has a population of about 12,500. Supporting those 12,500 avatars requires 4,000 servers as well as the 12,500 PCs the avatars' physical alter egos are using. Conservatively, a PC consumes 120 watts and a server consumes 200 watts. Throw in another 50 watts per server for data-center air conditioning. So, on a daily basis, overall Second Life power consumption equals:
(4,000 x 250 x 24) + (12,500 x 120 x 24) = 60,000,000 watt-hours or 60,000 kilowatt-hours
Per capita, that's:
60,000 / 12,500 = 4.8 kWh
Which, annualized, gives us 1,752 kWh. So an avatar consumes 1,752 kWh per year. By comparison, the average human, on a worldwide basis, consumes 2,436 kWh per year. So there you have it: an avatar consumes a bit less energy than a real person, though they're in the same ballpark.
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Raphael RousseauTony Walsh has, as others do, some doubts about whether Second Life is sustainable as a business. But he also poses another question that I hadn't come across before: "Is Second Life sustainable ecologically?"
secondlife environment energy avatars electricity technology ecology ecologie footprint developpementdurable
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27 Jun 07
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06 Jun 07
Will RichardsonQuote
: Walsh notes that on average there are between 10,000 and 15,000
avatars in Second Life at any given time, a number that's growing
rapidly. He wonders: "How much power do 15,000 human beings consume
daily compared to 15,000 avatars?" Hmm. Tha -
24 Apr 07
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wordmanEnvironmental impact of virtual people.
economics gaming electricity energy environment virtual world
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10 Apr 07
Marie PerezAn avatar consumes 1,752 kWh per year. By comparison, the average human, on a worldwide basis, consumes 2,436 kWh per year.
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27 Feb 07
Karla LopezSecond Life é ecológicamente sustentável?
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08 Feb 07
Jan Zuppinger"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)."
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gavin sadepost on energy consumption and second life
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The main point is moot; the comments make some interesting points, though
web gaming mmorpg engineering power energy secondlife avatar backlash
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Lynne BAvatars aren't quite as intangible as they seem. They don't have bodies, but they do leave footprints.
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06 Dec 06
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Martin StabeNicholas Carr wonders whether Second Life is ecologically sustainable. There's a wider point here about the environmental impact of the Internet, which gets talked about far too infrequently.
secondlife climatechange environment internet electricity carbon deliciousimport
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