Why Tech Companies Must Address Emissions Caused by Streaming and Scrolling
- Author: Doug Specht
- Full Title: Climate Change: Why Tech Companies Must Address Emissions Caused by Streaming and Scrolling
- Category: articles
- Document Tags: #planet
- URL: https://theconversation.com/climate-change-why-tech-companies-must-address-emissions-caused-by-streaming-and-scrolling-187676
Highlights
- Research estimates that e-waste – discarded electrical items, from chargers to photocopiers – could double between 2014 and 2030. And new regulations have begun tackling this physical waste, including chargers and device repairs. But, to reduce the world’s digital carbon footprint, these efforts need to go beyond the physical to include the impact of data use on the environment as well. (View Highlight)
- The energy used to stream all of Breaking Bad on Netflix is estimated to emit the equivalent pollution to driving 27 miles (View Highlight)
- Even the average social media user’s daily scroll of 2 hours 24 minutes was found to create similar emissions to driving more than 330 miles in a petrol car. (View Highlight)
- Facebook now claims to be carbon neutral, while Tiktok and Reddit produce the highest carbon footprints of the ten most popular social media apps. (View Highlight)
- Digital technologies account for as much carbon emissions as the aviation industry, and this is increasing. A move to renewable energy would make digital technology less damaging by taking fossil fuel burning out of the supply chain. (View Highlight)
- Second, to ensure that enough renewables are available to power the rest of society as well as digital technologies, we must discourage or reduce emission-intensive activities that generate huge wealth at the expense of users. For example, online advertising. The energy needed to power the average online ad campaign emits 5.4 tons of carbon dioxide – a third of what an average US consumer produces in a year – as well as encouraging more consumption of goods. (View Highlight)
- Just 63% of the global population have access to the internet, with most digital emissions generated in more economically developed countries. (View Highlight)