The ever-increasing carbon footprint of communication
When we first learned about Jevon’s Paradox in class, my first thought immediately went to the use of the internet and computer devices as a replacement for activities such as printing paper, sending correspondence, and more daily activities. During the pandemic, the environmental impacts of the internet became a hot topic, as we were reduced to doing almost everything online. While the invention of internet and mobile devices have made communication more efficient, there have been unintended consequences of the proliferation of the usage of these inventions — including environmental impacts like hidden carbon emissions or even extraction of rare earth minerals that are used to make the devices.
The BBC did a study that sites that internet, devices, and systems that support these things account for 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Further as our devices, capabilities, and tastes evolve, this number could increase, for example, video streaming is the most carbon-intensive type of media compared to text or images, and with the rise of TikTok and streaming content, this is a real problem for greenhouse gas emissions.
According to another BBC article, it has been studied that activities from scrolling, to email, to downloading video games are all harmful for the environment. In fact, the environmental costs to downloading video games might be more costly than a blue-ray dvd.
I do not think that the spread, growth, and evolution of the internet and devices could have been prevented. These are trends that have made people’s lives easier, connected us globally, and have many social benefits that cannot be compared to environmental costs. I believe that tech corporations and manufacturers should work together to think of different ideas that allow for tech innovation, while keeping the environment and sustainability at the forefront of planning and strategizing. Our reliance on technology and mobile devices is not going anywhere, nor will it decrease in the foreseeable future. So it is up to these companies to make sure that there inventions and evolutions of existing technology addresses the harm caused, and potentially we could have green technology that does not harm the environment as much at all stages of the supply chains.
