My buddy's render farm story made me rethink digital art's footprint

I used to assume digital was the greenest option. Seeing the energy use for his animation project was a REAL eye-opener.

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4 Comments

west.alex6mo ago

Oil paints and shipping beat @beth_butler's server bill, lol.

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the_jennifer6mo ago

But is it really that bad? I mean compared to all the other stuff we waste energy on, does digital stuff even make a real dent?

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beth_butler6mo ago

Absolutely, your buddy's story hits home. My cousin does 3D modeling for games, and she showed me her power bill after a big render. It was SHOCKING how much juice those servers drink. I always figured digital meant less waste, but now I see the hidden cost. Her whole project needed weeks of compute time, and the carbon footprint adds up fast. Makes you wonder about all the streaming and cloud stuff we take for granted.

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drewr156mo ago

Yeah but "carbon footprint adds up fast" feels like a stretch. @the_jennifer has a point, it's probably a drop in the bucket next to heavy industry.

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