2011年
Whowouldhavethoughtthat,globally,theITindustryproducesaboutthesamevolumes ofgreenhousegasesastheworld’sairlinesdo-rough2percentofallCO2emissions? Manyeverydaytaskstakeasurprisingtollontheenvironment.AGooglesearchcanleak between0.2and7.0gramsofCO2dependingonhowmanyattemptsareneededtogetthe “right” answer.Todeliverresultstoitsusersquickly,then,Googlehastomaintainvastdata centresroundtheworld,packedwithpowerfulcomputers.Whileproducinglargequantitiesof CO2,thesecomputersemitagreatdealofheat,sothecentresneedtobewellair-conditioned,
whichusesevenmoreenergy.
However,Googleandotherbigtechprovidersmonitortheirefficiencycloselyandmake improvements.Monitoringisthefirststepontheroadtoreduction,butthereismuchtobe done,andnotjustbybigcompanies.
2012年
Whenpeopleindevelopingcountriesworryaboutmigration,theyareusuallyconcernedatthe prospectoftheirbestandbrightestdeparturetoSiliconValleyortohospitalsanduniversities inthedevelopedworld.ThesearethekindofworkersthatcountrieslikeBritain,Canada Australiatrytoattractbyusingimmigrationrulesthatprivilegecollegegraduates。 Lotsofstudieshavefoundthatwell-educatedpeoplefromdevelopingcountriesare particularlylikelytoemigrate.AbigsurveyofIndianhouseholdsin2004foundthatnearly 40%ofemigrantshadmorethanahigh-schooleducation,comparedwitharound3.3%ofall Indiansovertheageof25.The “braindrain” haslongbotheredpolicymakersinpoor countries.Theyfearthatithurtstheireconomies,deprivingthemofmuch-neededskilled
workerswhocouldhavetaughtattheiruniversities,workedintheirhospitalsandcomeup
withclevernewproductsfortheirfactoriestomake。
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