One thing I think about as I write these articles on Green Xpectations is that the memory used to store them and the process of sending them both contribute to carbon emissions. The data centers that contain the physical or virtual servers and equipment necessary to store, transfer, and access digital information require much energy to keep everything running smoothly. Therefore, whatever you can do in order to reduce internet usage and the amount of data you are storing will help to reduce the energy needs and the resulting carbon emissions from these data centers. Hopefully, any changes in behavior that result from reading these blog posts will more than offset the emissions created from posting and storing them.
We all use the Internet for common purposes such as sending emails and messages, updating our social media, performing a Google search, streaming online movies and music, sharing photos, or sending or reading a Green Xpectations article. Even so, there are a myriad of ways that we can perform such activities in as sustainable a manner as possible; some example are provided below.
Send a text instead of an email. According to a book by author Mike Berners-Lee (2010) ("How bad are bananas?: The carbon footprint of everything"), a single text message contributes only about 0.014 grams of carbon emissions; therefore, texting wins as the most environmentally-friendly means by which to stay in touch. Also, sending a single message over social apps such as Facebook and Whatsapp is similar to sending an email.
Minimize the number of photos that you send over email; send links to files or online information as often as you can instead. Alternatively, lower the resolution of or compress the photo being sent. The book mentioned above estimates that a regular email without attachments costs about 4 grams of carbon dioxide, while attaching a photo or other large file can increase this up to 50 grams of carbon dioxide. This number may be higher today since these estimates are several years old.
Minimize emailing multiple recipients and unsubscribe from automatically generated newsletters and unnecessary email lists (excluding Green Xpectations, of course).
Think twice before sending thank you emails. (I am guilty of this one. I was just trying to be nice and did not realize that I was actually contributing to emissions by sending such emails.) This also applies to other simple emails such as: "Have a good weekend," "LOL," "Received," "Have a good evening," "Did you see this?," etc.
Update email addresses that have been changed as soon as possible to avoid sending emails that bounce.
Reduce your email storage. Much of the energy used by servers and data centers is due to data storage.
Attempt to extend the life of your devices (e.g. laptops, smartphones, TVs, game consoles, etc.). Resist the temptation to frequently buy the latest and greatest technology; a large percentage of a device's emissions occur during the manufacturing process. A research group out of Edinburgh University (UK) estimated that extending the life of a computer and monitor from 4 to 6 years will reduce your emissions by approximately 190 kg of carbon dioxide.
In summary, the overall objective is to minimize the sending and receipt of emails and attachments as well as email storage. Opt for text messaging whenever possible.
Objective
Two objectives I think we can all work on over the next few weeks to reduce our online carbone footprints are the following:
Clear your Inbox and other email folders (including Trash and Sent) of unneeded emails.
Unsubscribe from at least 10 unnecessary email lists (check your Spam or Junk folders for automated emails).
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