Pirate's Cove

Considering how many young folks are believers in the climate change scam and play video games, I’m not sure blaming their favorite past-time is a good idea. Seriously, do you think they’re going to give them up, much like when the Cult of Climastrology was linking streaming movies and shows?

The many ways video game development impacts the climate crisis

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Video games might not appear inextricably tied to the climate crisis, but they are. There’s the electricity use of gaming devices themselves, estimated to sit at 34 terawatt-hours of energy each year, or the equivalent of 5 million cars. Once you start unraveling where else the industry intersects with environmental issues, it can be difficult to stop — from the petroleum-based substances the hardware is made of, the workers mining raw materials in already sweltering conditions, to the millions of air miles underpinning business deals. Even just a cursory peek into the future shows the internet infrastructure games are reliant upon might be submerged by rising sea levels. As the crisis rolls on, game makers are beginning to give serious thought to how they might reduce their industry’s contributions to the crisis.

OK, so, add video games to the list of things the kiddies are now supposed to give up if they truly Believe. They won’t. We all know that.

Anyhow, this is a long, long, long piece. On video games linked to Hotcoldwetdry

But waiting for environmental responsibility to become a promotional checkbox implies that the climate crisis might be averted through existing economic structures. It’s worth remembering that hardware manufacturers continue to operate within a framework of planned obsolescence. “It’s great that they’re getting producer and manufacturer buy-in because oftentimes a lot of the environmental rhetoric is focused on the individual level,” says Alenda Y. Chang, professor of film and media studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Playing Nature: Ecology in Video Games. “But there’s no questioning of having to replace your PlayStation every few years.” In the immediate future, Sony and Microsoft will release their respective new consoles, each of which is underpinned by eye-watering technical specifications whose environmental impacts are far from clear.

Up, that’s not ‘climate change’, that is environmentalism, where things are designed to die and/or be replaced in short order, leading to landfills chock full of antiquated stuff that is like 2-3 years old. I have a washer and dryer I purchased in 1995, still work fine. A stereo from 1987. I bet some of my old cell phones would still work (if I had chargers and if would even connect anymore). Things used to be made to last. Lithium Ion batteries were supposed to last 20 years. Now you’re lucky if you get 2 years.

Ultimately, nature doesn’t care whether we’re playing thoughtful ecological adventures or the next high-tech military shooter. There are more concrete areas game makers can focus their efforts, like switching to renewable energy and considering the performance intensity of their games. If studios want to put pressure on industries’ biggest companies, including the hardware manufacturers and major service providers, collective organization might offer not only the best shot at being heard but also of enacting substantive change. As for one potential area of focus, supply chains are still woefully invisible for the most part. Greater transparency might enable a better chance of not only lessening hardware’s environmental impact but also improving the allegedly backbreaking work conditions in developing nations that continue to prop up the industry.

I recommend that any climate cultist who plays games must do so only on renewable energy. Install solar panels or no gaming. Seems fair, right?