• Data centers worldwide now consume more energy annually than Sweden. And the amount of energy required is growing, says Jonathan Koomey, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
• From 2000 to 2005, the aggregate electricity use by data centers doubled. Mr. Koomey calculates that “The cloud, . . . consumes 1 to 2 percent of the world’s electricity.” (NY Times)
• Raw materials for lithium ion batteries is now 75% of their total cost, according to Nathan Lewis, George L. Argyros professor of chemistry at California Institute of Technology
• 84 million barrels of oil per day (mb/d) are consumed worldwide. According to the Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2009 that figure will rise to 107mb/d by 2030
• According to same EIA report, fossil fuels will still comprise 80% of marketed energy by 2030. (obviously these are just projections but interesting and shows how major the worldwide dependence on fossil fuels is and how hard to break)

- Justin Manger

[image source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art]