By Kendyl Brower
Google search: Easy Cookie Recipe. Weather forecast. Mexican Restaurants near me. 10 ounces to cups. Every day, we Google our most basic needs, using the internet as the massive library of information that it is. Yet, the majority of internet users are oblivious to the environmental impacts of our everyday technological use.
With every search, phone call, or Youtube video, a few grams of carbon dioxide escape into the atmosphere. This is due to the use of huge data-center buildings that house servers, which run through tons of electricity every second. Harvard’s Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross finds that twenty milligrams of CO2 are generated every second someone is online—that is around 100 milligrams just reading this very sentence. This small amount adds up—with over 4.1 billion internet users, technological devices account for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. McAfee, a computer security company, reports that the electricity needed to send the trillions of spam emails each year could power two million homes in the United States, and produces the same emissions as more than three million cars. Clearly, internet usage has hidden, detrimental environmental impacts that many leave many users unintentionally worsening their digital carbon footprint.
Luckily, many corporations are taking initiative to reduce emissions. Investing one billion dollars in renewable energies, Google takes massive strides to cut its energy usage nearly in half. Furthermore, while internet energy consumption increases, new innovations and technologies are also becoming more efficient, such as newer Intel and Dell computer models.
As a concerned citizen, you do not have to entirely abandon the wide web in light of the staggering data. The internet provides various environmental benefits, such as reduced paper consumption and lessened need for distant travel. However, consumers should consider the sustainability initiatives of their providers, look into their search engine’s transparency, and hold these corporations accountable. The technological industry must be transparent about its emissions—technology is not as innocent and eco-friendly as many citizens believe. As well, limiting internet use as much as possible by watching shows and movies with friends, closing unused tabs, and turning off devices altogether when not in use are simple ways to reduce your digital carbon footprint.