There is no longer any question: our planet is in turmoil. Global climate change brought on by human emissions of greenhouse gasses will be the defining issue of our children's generation.

One of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world today is data centers. Data centers are large, industrial-scale buildings housing tens or hundreds of thousands of computers and their associated infrastructure, such as networking and cooling. A large data center consumes more energy than a small town, and this energy usage is growing exponentially each year.

As one of the largest IRC networks, supporting users from dozens of countries, Undernet has a greater responsibility than most to combat climate change wherever possible. Today, Undernet hosts most of its IRC servers in these wasteful, power-hungry data centers. But in our commitment to combating the ever-growing issue of global warming, this is going to change.

Starting today, Undernet will begin a phased transition from traditional IRC servers hosted in problematic data centers to more energy-efficient devices hosted on home computer networks. This "grassroots" campaign aims to abandon bulky, inefficient rackmount servers for smaller, passively-cooled ARM devices running on everyday devices around your home. Imagine an Undernet server in your smart TV, your coffeemaker, or your Dyson hairdryer.

Our pilot program begins with one such device: an Undernet server hosted on a Remington RM110 21" gas-powered lawnmower.  Please join us on IRC and show your support for this new green initiative. We look forward to chatting with you!

Server: lawnmower.undernet.org -- or join from our webchat

- Undernet