When you think of things that have a negative impact on our environment you would generally look at cars, the meat industry as well as other things that end up making our carbon footprint as massive as it currently is. However, even though a lot of people think that these are the only things that affect the world that we are currently living in, the fact of the matter is that a big part of our carbon footprint comes from the technology we use on a day to day basis.
For example, did you know that sending an email contributes to CO2 emissions? After all, you are using a computer which needs electricity to function, and the person receiving the email is going to be doing the same thing. All in all sending a single email results in about a gram of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. This may not seem like a lot but when you calculate just how many people there are in the world sending emails the impact becomes far more severe than you might have initially ended up anticipating.
Now, we obviously can’t stop sending emails entirely since a lot of people need them for work, but many of the emails we send are actually not necessary at all. For example, an email that acknowledges one that you have received is not actionable and thus not necessary. If everyone in the UK sent one fewer email per day, this "would save over 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year", "the same as 81,1522 flights to Madrid or taking 3,3343 diesel cars off the road", that is according to Ovoenerg! This is not a small amount of carbon emissions, so people really need to take these things into consideration if they are serious about the kind of world they are leaving for their children, one that is rapidly being destroyed by how we are choosing to live our lives.
Chart: Statista
Read next: The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World
For example, did you know that sending an email contributes to CO2 emissions? After all, you are using a computer which needs electricity to function, and the person receiving the email is going to be doing the same thing. All in all sending a single email results in about a gram of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. This may not seem like a lot but when you calculate just how many people there are in the world sending emails the impact becomes far more severe than you might have initially ended up anticipating.
Now, we obviously can’t stop sending emails entirely since a lot of people need them for work, but many of the emails we send are actually not necessary at all. For example, an email that acknowledges one that you have received is not actionable and thus not necessary. If everyone in the UK sent one fewer email per day, this "would save over 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year", "the same as 81,1522 flights to Madrid or taking 3,3343 diesel cars off the road", that is according to Ovoenerg! This is not a small amount of carbon emissions, so people really need to take these things into consideration if they are serious about the kind of world they are leaving for their children, one that is rapidly being destroyed by how we are choosing to live our lives.
Chart: Statista
Read next: The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World
