Video Summary
- LEZLEE ANNE PUA
- Apr 26, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: May 16, 2022
Watch a short summary on why we should care about our digital footprints and how we can minimize its impacts on the environment
Transcript:
About half the world has internet access.
That’s 3.5 billion people surfing the web.
But how much energy is that using?
And what is our online world doing to our planet’s climate?
Hi, I’m Lezlee, and we need to talk about your internet habits.
The internet is pretty great, this video wouldn’t be possible without it.
But getting this video and all the other bits of information from the internet to you uses a lot of energy.
When we think about creating a more sustainable world, we often perceive digital technologies as alternatives.
The waste that we produce online is not talked about enough, but that doesn’t mean it has no environmental impact.
Digital pollution includes pollution generated through manufacturing of equipment such as smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, computers and other connected devices that we use on a daily basis.
However, digital pollution is not limited to that.
Every time we browse, meet online, upload images or stream videos a small amount of carbon dioxide is emitted.
These carbon emissions are a result of the data storage and the network infrastructure needed to support the internet and store the content we access, which are pretty energy intensive.
Approximately 50% of the global population now use the internet.
Those scraps of energy consumed by each one of us, and the associated greenhouse gasses emitted with each online activity, can add up.
In fact, the carbon footprint of our gadgets, the internet and the systems supporting them account for about 3.7% of the global greenhouse emissions and it actually exceeds the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the airline industry globally.
And disturbingly, these emissions are predicted to double by 2025.
As more products, activities and industries move online, digital pollution will only grow.
So how can we as users limit the impact of digital pollution?
As an individual, simply upgrading our devices less often is one way of cutting the carbon footprint of our digital technologies.
One study at the University of Edinburgh found that extending the time you use a single device from four to six years could avoid the equivalent of 190kg of carbon emissions.
In addition, deleting emails and unsubscribing from mailing lists we no longer read is another way to offset our digital footprint.
A single email produces 4g of CO2.
You might think that number isn’t significant but think about all the emails you’ve accumulated in your inbox over the last year.
Storing these messages requires additional energy for our data centers which means additional carbon emission produced.
Watching a video for an hour is equivalent to releasing 130g of CO2 into the atmosphere, that is equivalent to plugging a refrigerator for one year.
Streaming is believed to be responsible for 60% of data traffic on the web.
By disabling automatic video playback and reducing the quality of streams, we can improve our carbon footprint.
These are just some of the ways to offset our digital footprint. If you want to learn more about digital pollution and ways to reduce our digital footprint feel free to browse our website down below at EnerGenZ!
References:
Collins, P. (2021, November 25). Internet pollution: how can its impact be reduced? Climate Consulting by Selectra. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi2t4fo--D3AhXS3WEKHcTeD0IQFnoECAIQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fclimate.selectra.com%2Fen%2Fenvironment%2Finternet-pollution&usg=AOvVaw0NF-MwTbkcW4UWe7a5YXOn
Griffiths, S. (2020, March 6). “Why your internet habits are not as clean as you think.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think
Rice, A., & Friday, A. (2020, May 1). “Internet emissions: what’s the issue?” Royal Society. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2020/05/internet-emissions-whats-the-issue/
Wi, Asheley. (n.d.). “Save Our Planet by Deleting Emails.” The Good Planet, thegoodplanet.org/2020/06/02/how-you-can-save-our-planet-by-deleting-emails/.
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