Is it possible to be low impact on the internet?
Is it possible to have no impact on the planet when you are on the internet? Well, the answer it turns out is kind of complicated and basically quite hard to achieve.
The first step, like everything to do with minimising your impact on the internet, is to reduce your usage or just stop using it altogether. There are 4.57 billion internet users in the world and some of them are constantly on the internet which makes the energy usage and carbon footprint of the internet exceed that of all the world's air travel. And as I discussed in a previous blog post, air travel is the least planet-friendly way to travel by a long shot.
On Organic Basics Low Impact version of their website, they explain that "The Internet is accountable for 3.7% of the world’s carbon emissions... because an enormous amount of electricity is required to run data transfer centres around the world." More on their Low Impact website below. These statistics shocked me because this amount of data transfer is basically as a result of most things modern people do like scrolling social media, watching Netflix, returning work emails or having client calls. Everything these days is embedded on the internet which highlights the importance of reduces our internet carbon footprint.
The next best step would be to unplug or turn off your device as soon as you're going to stop using it so that the least amount of energy is being used while the device is in stand by or sleep mode when that is completely unnecessary. I have a habit of leaving devices in sleep mode when I'm unsure if I'm only going to be away from a device for a few minutes of not.
This is also a good tip to apply to everything in your house with batteries or a plug socket. Some people suggest adding to your nightly routine a last check around the house and turning off or unplugging everything that you can think of, obviously other than things like fridges and freezers!
When you think your internet use is going to be really quick and just a simple 'Ecosia' search (see below), then the best choice is to use the smallest device at your disposal like a smartphone or tablet instead of a laptop or computer.
In terms of actual internet searches, instead of opting for the obvious Google, use Ecosia which is an internet search engine which plants trees while you search by using the funds from their adverts to do so. They are really transparent and you can find out exactly how many searches it takes to plant a tree and how many trees they have already planted just by visiting their website.
One thing that I have always found quite frustrating in general and now realise has been really bad for my carbon footprint is all to do with emails. Spam emails, subscription newsletter emails, emails with attachments or photos, replying all in emails... all can sometimes be completely unnecessary for you to be receiving or doing but is also adding to the amount of cloud storage and internet usage.
Your best bet is to unsubscribe from all email newsletters other than the ones that add real value or that you know you will actually find the time to read. Be a little ruthless here because in reality if you really miss one of them, you can always resubscribe to the newsletter anyway. Make sure to only keep in your emails the emails that you're going to look at again or that need action. This will require some organisation and probably a lot of email deleting. Never do reply all unless everyone actually needs to know the reply.
Relating to emails and how they are stored on magic cloud storage is all your files which you store on cloud storage systems like Google Drive/Photos, DropBox, OneDrive. Storing files on the cloud involve a lot of energy but also a lot of storage space and if the files don't actually need to be stored then that storage space is being wasted. Decluttering your cloud drive can be really useful to actually get organised and have easy access to only the files that you will need but also is helping to clear space so fewer servers are needed saving resources and energy which will help to reduce your impact on the planet.
When you have decluttered your cloud storage, the next step would be to think about if any of the files in cloud storage actually need to be accessible on the cloud or if they could just be stored locally on your device or on a hard drive. This works for things like old files and photos which don't need to be accessible all the time but that you do want to keep.
Combatting my personal internet use and the carbon footprint that had was relatively easy to implement and understand, however, I run this website so my carbon footprint it turns out is much bigger than I anticipated. Whenever a website is viewed, the data like words and code and pictures are loaded onto an individual's device so that it is quick to load and easy to access the site. This has a large impact on the planet and that impact is made bigger is the webpage is very long, includes videos and large photos, has complicated coding like javascript and has lots of different fonts.
Organic Basics were the first to introduce me to this concept that my own website was creating such a large carbon footprint because they have created a Low Impact version of their website which "reduces the carbon emissions associated with online shopping by up to 70% in comparison to our regular site... by getting rid of most of the data-heavy elements like images and videos." Their Low Impact website only loads exactly what someone is interested in viewing and has very limited photography and a plain background and font design to reduce it to the most essentials of the website.
One of the hobbies that everyone seems to have adopted in the modern world is watching TV, but instead of this actually being on the TV, this can be in the form of catch up internet players, internet TV, streaming channels like Netflix and YouTube videos. Watching videos on the internet creates the most carbon emissions so the best idea is to watch fewer videos on the internet and try and watch them less often in HD.
So, is it possible to be low impact on the internet?
Well, it isn't possible to have zero impact on the internet. Unless that is we convert all of our servers and energy sources to renewable energy sources and you can guarantee your internet is coming from those sources.
It is possible however to drastically reduce the impact individuals have cause to the planet through their internet usage. Like everything to do with saving the planet it all starts with reducing our consumption and then minimising the way the rest of the things we do affect the planet.
I think we could all do with a little less time on the internet and a little more time in nature or looking out at nature or doing some of the old fashioned forms of entertainment that revolve less around internet and screen usage like reading books, playing games, or exercising. I am aware that these are not always accessible to all people so it is all about finding your own personal balance of what you are able to do and want to do and what will be good for the planet.
Sources:
Comments