The Hidden Environmental Impact of Data Storage I. Introduction (2 minutes) – Definition and explanation of the topic. – Brief introduction to the significant growth in digital data generation. – Presentation of the course’s outline. II. Understanding Digital Data (3 minutes) – Definition and nature of digital data. – Brief history and evolution of digital data storage. III. The Scale of Data Storage (3 minutes) – Current trends in data generation and storage. – Real-world examples of data storage scales (i.e., cloud storage, data centers). – The future of data storage: Predictions and challenges. IV. The Environmental Impact of Data Storage (4 minutes) – Energy consumption of data centers: cooling, powering servers, redundancy systems. – E-waste generated from obsolete storage devices. – Carbon footprint associated with data storage. – Case studies showing the environmental impact of major data storage facilities. V. Sustainable Solutions in Data Storage (5 minutes) – Overview of sustainable data storage: green data centers, energy-efficient storage technologies, data optimization. – Renewable energy in data storage: solar-powered data centers, energy recovery, etc. – Role of policy and regulation in promoting sustainable data storage. – Emerging trends and technologies that promise better sustainability (e.g., DNA data storage, quantum computing, etc.) VI. Role of Individuals and Organizations (2 minutes) – How individual digital habits contribute to the problem and what can be done to mitigate the impact. – The role of organizations in reducing the environmental footprint of their data storage. VII. Conclusion and Q&A (1 minute) – Recap of key points. – Impart the significance of being conscious about digital data storage’s environmental impact. – Open the floor for questions and further discussion.