Digital carbon footprint: the impact of our online activity

It's something intangible, but have you ever wondered how our online activity generates pollution?

Most of our communications, documents, and images are now digitized. This can be considered a good thing from an environmental point of view: less mail means less wasted paper and fewer plastic envelopes.

But have you ever thought about the impact that sending and storing emails, text messages, or photos could have on your carbon footprint? The fact that we cannot physically see or touch the data we send and receive throughout the day does not mean that it is without impact.

Each year, the internet releases approximately 300 million tons of CO2. Every time you send an email, it travels through or is stored in a data center. These centers require massive amounts of energy , both to power the machines and to provide the air conditioning needed to prevent the servers from overheating.

Almost everything we do online leaves a trace. It has a name: our digital carbon footprint. We're not saying that digitization is bad and should be stopped. It's probably even better than paper for many obvious reasons. But we do need to be a little more conscious of our digital usage.

SEARCH FOR INFORMATION

According to Google itself, nearly 4 million search queries are launched every minute. Each one uses approximately 0.0003 kWh. Two hundred searches therefore represent roughly the same amount of energy as that needed to iron a shirt.

Consider using a search engine like Ecosia , which will help you offset this footprint by reversing deforestation, for example.

E-MAIL

A typical year of email reception for a single person, including sending, filtering, and reading emails, creates a carbon footprint of approximately 135 kg . This is equivalent to driving 200 miles in an average car.

What could you do personally?

Reduce the size of the emails you send by lowering image resolution and compressing documents. Use smaller file formats or replace attachments with hyperlinks.

You can also regularly clean up your mailing lists and unsubscribe from newsletters you never read (many apps help you do this, such as Unlistr or Unroll.me).

If, like many of us, you're stuck at home, perhaps now is a good time to delete some of those old emails you no longer need. A French telecommunications company estimated that if 100,000 people deleted 50 old emails, it would save as much energy as turning off 2.7 billion light bulbs for an hour (link to the study ). Crazy, right?

STREAMING

We wouldn't want to spoil your Netflix evening. But streaming is very energy-intensive. So if you ever feel like doing something else, pick up a book!

CLOUD STORAGE

The amount of energy used to maintain and operate cloud storage also has an environmental impact. Data centers contain thousands of servers , which must be powered 24/7 to ensure continuous data access. Furthermore, when data is stored, it is typically duplicated across different servers. Why, you might ask? This ensures a backup in case of data loss, such as during a system failure.

Many internet companies have begun taking steps to make their cloud more environmentally friendly by using renewable energy to power their data centers. But the greenest energy is the energy that isn't used.

So, what can you do on a personal level? Among other things, you can delete old messages, tweets, or outdated photos from your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). Then, organize your files, documents, and photos stored in the cloud. Think of it as a little "Marie Kondo-style clean-up" of your storage.

So yes, even if we can't see it, this data pollutes because it has to be stored. Small actions like sorting and deleting your old emails/photos can reduce your carbon footprint. We're all at home right now: it's probably the best time to do it!