557: Data centres in a time of climate crisis

When it comes to adapting to climate change, we tend not to think about the energy demands of our digital technologies. But data centres – the physical structures that store and process our digital information – are very resource-intensive and vulnerable to extreme weather events. Host Nora Young discusses data centre design with Lauren Bridges, critical data studies researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; Chheng Lim, an associate at Chicago-based Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects, who specializes in data-centre design; and Simon Harris, head of critical infrastructure at Business Critical Solutions, a data centre consultancy firm in the U.K.