Is the Internet Sustainable?
Spoiler alert, it’s not.
The Internet is the largest coal fired machine in the world.
It is inextricably tied to the inevitability of the climate crisis. It is both a major force behind the crisis and one of its likely casualties.
What does the Internet look like?
The Internet tends to be perceived as an intangible, immaterial space without physicality. But all of the data that is on the internet is stored at data servers which are computers without peripherals like keyboards or monitors. In the case of an Internet server, the device is connected to the Web, so that any computer with a Web connection can access the files stored on the server. Servers store and process data just like a computer, and are connected to the Internet through wired or wireless connections.
To house large amounts of information with unlimited disc storage for the world, data centres are energy intensive physical spaces. They generate huge amounts of heat that needs regulation through air conditioning, humidity control etc. which is largely made possible by burning coal.
Only 13% of the data centres are currently powered by renewable energy. Apple now runs all of its data centres on renewables that it either owns or purchases in local markets. Google and Microsoft Azure, two of the biggest cloud companies, are purchasing renewable energy credits to match their data centre growth. This means as their electricity use rises, the companies are paying for an equal amount of renewable energy to be built elsewhere. Google aims for 24/7 carbon-free electricity by 2030.
Impact in numbers
The Internet’s data centres alone may already have the same CO2 footprint as global air travel. While our digital carbon footprints may be low individually, approximately 4.1 billion people, or 53.6% of the global population have attained digital literacy. Collectively, and with the associated greenhouse gases emitted through online activities, the numbers are formidable. More than 3 billion people are yet to log on to the internet.
Recent predictions state that the energy consumption of data centres is set to account for 3.2 per cent of the total worldwide carbon emissions by 2025 and they could consume no less than a fifth of global electricity.
Your life on the Internet
We live in the digital age. Our cyber identities are as real and as present as our physical selves. The internet, however, is capable of providing immortality — something that escapes the realms of the physical human experience. But our perceptions of cyberspace are incomplete as the internet functions with a certain convenient invisibility. Most people are unaware of the amount of data that they have on the internet, its reach and the way that data is harnessed by people who access it. Becoming digitally conscious and literate is not an option anymore, it has to be non-negotiable.
This is all the more incentive for us to become cognizant of our consumption on the internet. So much of our data on the internet, that becomes increasingly obsolete with our progression through technology and time, starts posing itself as a personal and environmental threat simultaneously.
Becoming conscious consumers of data
Chris Adams, a web designer, director at the The Green Web Foundation, and climate activist in Berlin thinks a green internet must be free of advertising since ninety per cent of a web page being ads requires servers. Those servers are taking electricity, and that electricity is generated by burning coal.[5]
By becoming critical of our internet consumption and taking control of our digital legacies, we are not only making political statements against consumerism and capitalism, and democratising the virtual space further but also making environmental pledges that Replenish Earth.
Are you keen about the Internet and climate yourself? Have some interesting facts to share with us? Write to us at info@replenish.earth or DM us on Instagram or LinkedIn and we would love to share your story with our audience!
Happy replenishing!
This article was compiled by Ritika.
Published by
Replenish Earth, a cause and a collective action to protect the global commons — the natural resources we all share. Replenish Earth is focused on ecosystem restoration, with a multidisciplinary approach to creating a positive impact on earth including and not limited to education, eco-therapy (physical and virtual), eco-products, eco-futurism.
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