Did you know that digital pollution has a considerable impact on the ecology?
The Internet represents about 2 to 3% of CO2 emissions.
If it were a country, it would even be the third biggest polluter after China and the United States!
Here are some simple ways to surf the Internet in a more eco-friendly way: a search on Google is
equivalent to 5 to 7g of CO2.
Therefore, do precise research to avoid multiple unnecessary searches.
Bookmark regularly visited sites.
There are also more eco-friendly search engines: Lilo, Ecosia, Ecogine...
Close your tabs regularly: every page opened, even if it is not consulted, consumes energy as it is regularly updated.
Digital pollution is also caused by online file storage: the cloud.
All data is kept in data centers, which operate 24 hours a day: they consume as much electricity as a city of at least 30,000 inhabitants during one day!
To lighten the cloud, empty your mailbox regularly, knowing that a stored mail represents 10 g of CO2, which is equivalent to the carbon impact of a plastic bag.
Avoid heavy mails (long or containing files), grouped mails...
Unsubscribe from newsletters and block spam.
Moreover, prefer exchanges by SMS which emits 1,000 times less CO2 than an email.
Also opt for local storage on hard drive and USB key.
Finally, avoid streaming platforms or at least lower the definition (high definition being 4 to 10 times more energy consuming).
And if not, why not go back to CDs and DVDs?