The problem big data doesn’t talk about, and how we’re taking small steps to tackle our own #ForABetterInternet #WorldEarthDay
Reading this, it’s likely you’ve sent or received several already today, maybe ten, a hundred maybe more? No, not COVID-19 germs. I’m talking about emails. Perhaps you have been working from ‘the cloud’, uploading files or sending large files? The last thing you’re thinking about is the carbon footprint of that activity? Maybe you should…
Emails are a big problem. Did you know an email with large attachment generates 50 grams of CO2 from the power required to send and receive it? That’s not much, right? Wrong. It adds up when you consider we send 281 billion emails a day.
Don’t take my word for it. This is information was available back in 2011, from Mike Berners-Lee: “How Bad are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything”. Mike Burners-Lee is the brother of Tim Burners-Lee, (who invented the world wide web). I trust Mike got his sums correct .
The average full-time officer worker will send/receive 140 emails a day. Which is 34,300 emails a year creating 168kg of CO2. This is the same as if you had used 16,800 plastic carrier bags, or drunk 2,100 disposable cups of tea or coffee with a serving of milk or or drove 237…
