Digital Thirst: Measuring the Hidden Water & Energy Cost of Our Digital Lives

Students will:

  1. Recognize that “cloud” services depend on physical infrastructure (data centers, electricity, cooling water).
  2. Estimate their weekly digital usage (email, storage, social media, gaming, streaming, AI prompts).
  3. Use ranges and uncertainty when estimating impacts (because different studies give different numbers).
  4. Understand why AI can increase data center energy/water demand at scale.
  5. Create a realistic “Less prompts, more purpose” + “digital sufficiency” action plan for school/home.

Available language: English

 

Topics: Environmental Sciences, Economics, Computer Science, Technology and Design, Social Studies