In the commemorative framework of International Mother Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, millennials express their concern about preserving the environment, with recycling and water care being the practices they use most to protect it, however; Technology has become the way in which they emit more pollutants on a daily basis.
“Well, in a certain way, cell phone use, because it requires electrical energy to charge, for everyday use, as well as the pollutants they emit,” Kim mentioned.
“As we know, technology has a significant impact, both positive and negative, on the one hand it has allowed advances in energy efficiency, and for example, reducing the use of paper in offices; However, the rapid pace of development has generated an increase in electronic devices and waste, and also the increase in energy demand for the use of data centers and devices where all our information, well, is stored there, which requires much more energy to maintain itself,” said Dr. María Alejandra Fonseca Salazar of Environmental Sustainability on Campuses- COUS UNAM.
Why do emails pollute?
The main reason is that emails are stored in large data centers, translated on servers throughout the world. These servers are the physical part of the digital world. To operate, servers require a constant cooling temperature. The electricity needed to sustain that operation is typically produced by fossil fuels, which generates large amounts of carbon emissions.
The electricity needed to sustain the service increases proportionally to the megabytes of data processed. So the heavier an email is, the more carbon footprint it has.
Spam, in addition to being annoying, is also polluting: according to estimates by the anti-spam service Cleanfox, the average user receives 2,850 unwanted emails each year. These are responsible for 28.5 kg of CO2.
“I hadn’t considered it; However, I think that it is something that implies that the carbon footprint grows more, if in itself there is already a lot of electricity that we consume daily, with this we have already increased the use of energy and with it we pollute more,” said Roberto. .
Digital consumption is increasing: audio and video streaming is mainly responsible for the exponential growth of Internet use and the consequent increase in emissions: it represents 63% of global traffic. Additionally, online gaming increases by 19% every year.
And although the new social mentality is aware of the need to end past practices to benefit the environment, there are still some negative impacts that the sector, which experts say, must be improved, including:
Consumption of natural resources. The production of electronic devices together with planned obsolescence (against which we are already fighting) and the development of increasingly powerful infrastructures, require a large amount of natural resources, such as the extraction of minerals, metals and fossil fuels. . This entails significant environmental impacts, such as deforestation, soil degradation or water pollution.
Generation of electronic waste. The rapid obsolescence of technology and the constant supply of new products generate a large amount of waste. These devices contain toxic substances, such as lead, mercury and arsenic, which can seep into the ground and affect the water if not managed properly. Furthermore, improper dismantling can release hazardous substances and pose a health risk.
Emissions of greenhouse gases. It’s not just the production. The energy needed to power servers, data centers and devices favors the emission of greenhouse gases, something that has already been seen in cases such as cryptocurrency mining. These emissions contribute to global warming.
Air and water pollution. The lack of proper management of electronic waste, including the manufacturing of electronic components, often involves intensive industrial processes that emit pollutants into the air and water. These pollutants can have negative effects on air and water quality, as well as the health and survival of species.
The average size of an email is 75 kb. If each of the estimated 300 million email users in the world deleted 50 emails per day, 276 million kWh of energy could be saved, which would avoid 64 million kg of CO2.
“If we talk about what young people pollute the most, well, it is all the electronic things we are consuming. They last a short time, they pollute a lot, we throw them away, the cell phone, or we change them repeatedly, that is why it is important to take urgent actions for the environment, including using devices that are more efficient, that last longer their useful life; opt for repair and update. Promote circular business models that minimize waste,” said Fonseca Salazar.
How can we contribute to reducing “digital pollution”?
Think before you write and reread before sending, to avoid confusion
Avoid unnecessary “CC”
Use mailing lists intelligently
Limit use of the -reply all- feature in group emails
Avoid inconclusive emails
Remember the annex
Delete newsletters that do not interest us
Empty the mailbox
Try to use Wi-Fi
Remember to turn off your computer at the end of the day
Turn off autoplay on podcasts or online streaming platforms
Try not to use more than one device at the same time
You can also read: Elon Musk plans to create an email service: he will call it X-mail
