Catching the Cloud and Pinning It Down: the Social and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers
Catching the Cloud and Pinning It Down: the Social and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers
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抓住云并加以控制：数据中心的社会和环境影响
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发表时间：
2018
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通讯作者：
H. Ipsen
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作者：
H. Ipsen
随着全球发达国家对社交媒体、移动的设备和计算机的依赖不断增长，数据中心已成为这个数字时代的重要组成部分，但人们对此知之甚少。这些越来越多地建在农村地区的大型建筑，储存数字文件和图像。尽管云计算的重要性显而易见，但地理学家还没有研究过这种基础设施及其对附近社区和物理环境的影响。本项目以位于俄勒冈州普赖恩维尔的Facebook数据中心为案例研究，探讨数据中心的开发和运营对社会和环境的影响。它探讨了技术行业对当地社会和自然环境的影响，以及数据中心运营的更广泛影响。它还寻求在可持续企业和“绿色”资本主义的日益普遍的愿景中重新部署数据中心。通过对Facebook管理人员、城镇官员和当地居民的采访，我得出了关于此类数据中心的几个结论。首先，大数据公司试图适应当地对设施的担忧，并将其融入建设和运营社区的社会结构。因此，在短期内，它们似乎对当地公民的社会生活影响很小或没有影响。其次，数据中心的环境影响很难在全球范围内确定。虽然大数据公司投资于“绿色”能源，但他们很少分享有关废物处理和回收的信息，而且这些建筑物所需的空间正在增加。最后，通过遵循可持续企业的原则，这些公司寻求最大限度地减少数据中心运营对社会和环境的潜在负面影响，从而获得更大的利润和可持续性，以及更积极的公众形象。抓住云并将其固定下来：数据中心的社会和环境影响Ipsen BS葛底斯堡学院，2015论文提交在地理学硕士学位的要求部分履行锡拉丘兹大学2018年5月版权所有© 2018石楠伊普森保留所有权利
As reliance on social media, mobile devices, and computers has grown in developed nations worldwide, data centers have become an important, but poorly understood, part of this digital age. These massive structures, which are increasingly built in rural areas, store digital files and images. Despite the clear importance of cloud computing, geographers have not studied this infrastructure or its effect on nearby communities and the physical environment. This project examines the social and environmental impacts of the development and operation of data centers, using a Facebook data center in Prineville, Oregon as a case study. It explores what impact the technology industry has on local social and natural environment, as well as the broader implications of data center operations. It also seeks to situate data centers within increasingly common visions of sustainable businesses and ‘greening’ capitalism. Through interviews with Facebook managers, town officials, and local citizens, I came to several conclusions about such data centers. First, big data companies have tried to accommodate local concerns about the facilities and to integrate them within the social fabric of the communities where they are built and operated. Consequently, in the short-term, they appear to have little or no impact on the social life of local citizens. Second, the environmental impacts of data centers are difficult to determine at a global scale. While big data companies invest in ‘green’ energy, they share little information about their waste disposal and recycling, and the amount of space these buildings require is growing. Finally, by following the tenets of sustainable enterprise, these companies have sought to minimize potential negative social and environmental impacts of data center operation, resulting in greater profits and sustainability, as well as a more positive public image. CATCHING THE CLOUD AND PINNING IT DOWN: THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DATA CENTERS By Heather A. Ipsen B.S. Gettysburg College, 2015 THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography Syracuse University May 2018 Copyright © 2018 Heather Ipsen All Rights Reserved