Like most people I imagine, I am subscribed to a dizzying amount of news feeds that are delivered to my personal email; so many I have lost count and, so many I pay little attention to it, unless it has to do with data centers. One article in particular crossed my path earlier this past July. Titled, “The Internet Is Drowning,” the online article, written by Alejandra Borunda, was published July 16, 2018 on the National Geographic website at https://on.natgeo.com/2LmubxW.
The crux of the article was that fiber optic cabling “and hundreds of pieces of other key infrastructure are likely to be swamped by the encroaching ocean” within 15 years, thanks to climate change. And though we now have data centers that live under water, see Microsoft, submersing normal data center infrastructure is an alarming prospect.
The NOAA-sponsored Digital Coast’s Sea Level Viewer at https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr.html shows that Miami, Seattle, and New York will experience a sea level rise of at least 12 in. by 2030, and according to Borunda, “A foot of extra water wending through some of those cities, the researchers say, would put about 20 percent of the nation’s key internet infrastructure underwater.”
Think disaster recovery times thousands. All that lost uptime and money. The article does not outline any steps being taken to alleviate this problem. But that is what we are for. Look for more on this topic in the future at Mission Critical Magazine.
FMOY
Not to be a nag, but the deadline for the Mission Critical Magazine Facility Manager of the Year is rapidly approaching on August 31, 2019. Do you know a facility manager who goes above and beyond to keep data centers running while keeping an eye on the bottom line and saving energy and maintaining uptime? Nominate him or her! Mission Critical’s editorial staff and advisory board will judge submissions and select the winning entry.
The Mission Critical Magazine Facility Manager of the Year will be featured in the 2019 November/December issue of Mission Critical Magazine and will be honored with a plaque.
So don’t delay! Nominate today.
Caroline Fritz
Editor
