If the answer to that question is “Yes,” as the New Scientist suggests it is, then I’m in a whole heap of trouble.
There are a lot of lifestyle changes I’ve made for the sake of the planet.
Photo: “thoR
I recycle. I got rid of my car a few years back and walk or use public transportation. I carry reusable bags so I don’t need plastic bags from the grocery store. I turn off the lights when I leave a room, unplug appliances that aren’t in use, take quick showers though I prefer long ones, use rechargeable batteries rather than disposables, and try to remember to carry a travel mug.
And that’s just the daily stuff.
But am I about to confront the limits of my environmental friendliness?
A recent article in the New Scientist reviewed research on the impact of computer and Internet use… and the results aren’t encouraging.
First: “the energy used by all… computers and peripherals…could be responsible for as much as 2 per cent of all human-made CO2 emissions, putting [computers] on a par with the aviation industry.”
And we gripe about the massive carbon footprint of air travel.
But that’s not all:
“According to Google, the production of the electricity needed for a single internet search generates 200 milligrams of CO2. This may not sound much, but it adds up: 1000 searches produce the same CO2 emissions as an average European car travelling 1 kilometre. Worse, internet traffic is currently growing at around 50 per cent each year. According to the international environmental coalition The Climate Group, total emissions from computers will increase by 280 per cent, to the equivalent of 1.4 gigatonnes of CO2, by 2020.”
Yikes.
I don’t know about you, but my computer is a pretty important part of my life. As a full time writer, editor, and researcher, I spend hours on my computer every day; it’s how I make a living.
So if the news about the negative environmental impact of computers and the Internet is true, what’s a girl like me– or you– to do? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Community Connection:
Beyond your daily computer use, do you travel with your laptop? If you’re considering a laptop-free trip, check out these tips in “Laptop Travel: To Bring or Not to Bring.
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17 Comments... join the discussion!
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Thanks for the feedback, everyone. You’re right– beyond whatever carbon footprint is being generated by our Internet use, there are some serious health issues posed by computers, components concerns, and, of course, disposal worries. Laptops, computers, software, and hardware–when not recycled–leach harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater.
Hal- Regarding your solar charger question… there’s actually an effort to mass market solar powered laptops but there appear to be lots of logistical, aesthetic, and technical obstacles:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/02/solar-powered-l/
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I had never thought of it either…there are so many aspects of our life and the technology we enjoy…even to connect in positive ways such as matador, that make us all canaries in the coal mine. How can we tackle this problem, stay connected in increasing holistic ways?
Can I power my ‘puter with a stationary bike? Solar power (or in Seattle, rain power?)↵ -
Not good news, is it? The amount of energy used by computers left on standby is huge as well. Although the amount of carbon emissions caused by the energy usage totally depends on how the electricity was generated. Hopefully moving to cleaner electricity generation sources can help to reduce the impact. Doesn’t help that electricity demand keeps on going up, but that’s another problem I guess…
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Yikes is right.
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Mind boggling. Over the top? I don’t know, I’d love to see the other side to this – only because I really, REALLY don’t want this to be true.
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What doesn’t seem to be considered in the article is the environmental impact of physically doing a lot of the tasks that are now being done via computer. Consider the paper saved from writing/editing digitally; consider the gas saved by avoiding going to the library to do research.
But never mind that, what about payroll? Hell, consider the “carbon” impact of ANY industry’s “de-automation” of tasks that computers have made infinitely more efficient (and reduced the paper load).
And then consider the fact that my dual-montior, 2.8ghz Dual-Core pentium uses probably half the electricity–at full speed–that my last computer used. So in addition to making processes more carbon efficient, they’ve made the devices that affect that efficiency more efficient…and they continue to affect that further.
I guess I don’t see where the author is going with this. Yes, computers are a growing part of CO2 emissions, because computer use has grown (and so, too, has the population). Does he want us to stop using computers? Does he want data center to care even MORE about electricity consumption?
Though Amazon.com’s datacenter may eat a lot of electricity, consider the money it saves from driving to a store.
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Jacob-
As you suggest, there are lots of reasons why computers don’t seem to be too good for the planet– either the physical world itself, or its people. Thanks for bringing up all these other reasons why that’s the case.
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There is movement in the right direction on this. Google, one of the biggest resources online (and the target of that research, it would seem), is developing new methods of building servers (including the very cool and much more sustainable ‘computer navy’ http://www.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/09/18/computer.navy/index.html which would be a series of ocean-based server farms that are cooled and powered by the temperature and movement of the ocean).
The computing industry is also moving toward much more energy-efficient parts, and less-toxic batteries, so really it’s not so different from any other industry that is working on becoming more sustainable (cars, avionics, etc).
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Colin-
Really interesting information! Thanks for sharing.
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As frightening as it sounds, I think it’s important to keep it in perspective. Computers didn’t just appear out of nowhere. They replace something.
So how does the carboon footprint of an email compare to sending a letter? How about couriers for important/large documents? Working from home on my computer might compare quite well to me having to travel somewhere else to work.
I think the priority has to be to get renewable forms of energy to power our computer use. That said, we should reduce unnecessary power consumption (by turning off our PCs when we’re not using them).
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Simon-
Great observations; thanks for sharing your insights!
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Hang on, I need to Google a few dozen things to verify this.
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ouch.
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I still believe the super-connectivity provided by the internet outweigh any adverse effects in terms of long-term good for humanity. But hopefully the engineers can continue to cut down on the energy use, recycling of the stuff, etc., to make the effects less serious.
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Yeah – and that doesn’t take into account the incredible differential between the amount of raw material that goes into making a computer and the size of the finished product. It’s gotta be something like 10,000 to 1. And that’s for a computer that will last what – 3 years?
Us WiFi addicts are skewered on the pinnacle of Babylon.
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Not to mention all the noxious chemicals and compounds that are inside our computers and get dumped on the ecosystem once we’re done with them…
Anyone ever tried one of those solar chargers to run their laptop?
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