I’m Paula Santolaya, reporting live from SANTOLIVE in my virtual reality. Have comments, opinions, or suggestions? Post them in the comments section or email me at info@santolive.com.

How many of you have heard about the ‘cloud’? No, it is not a cloud in the sky. I mean the digital cloud: a virtual space where you can store and share data from anywhere in the world, as long as you are connected to the Internet.

What some people do not know is that our digital carbon footprint is generating a real cloud of pollution, as is the case with emails, since sending an email equals 19 grams of CO₂. In one day around 290 hundred millions emails are sent worldwide, the equivalent to 4000 round-trip flights from Paris to New York!

In order to reduce energy consumption, large technology companies are already thinking of solutions to convert their data centers into sustainable places. This is the case of Microsoft, which has moved some of its servers to the bottom of the sea to take advantage of the cold sea depths. Facebook is installing its data center in the Arctic Circle to reduce the suffocating heat generated by its supercomputers. But the most Martian solution is to keep the information in outer space! With this new system, the problem of refrigeration could disappear, -—since the temperature in the Earth’s orbit is very low—and also that of data protection —since access to information would be unattainable even for cybercriminals.

Take note: if you want to help save the planet from pollution, you must start by cleaning up your email inbox!

Click here to see the video on my Youtube channel SANTOLIVE TV