Do you want to play your role in saving the environment? Then here is a small thing that everyone can do and that is to leave the camera off when you are on a video call. This small trick can reduce carbon emissions by 96%.
According to a study conducted by Purdue University in the US, it has been estimated that one hour of video call or streaming emits about 150 to 1000 grams of carbon dioxide. It can also consume up to 12 liters of water and the area of land that is usually equal to the size of an iPad mini.
Hence, as researchers suggest, leaving the camera off won’t only help you in keeping your messy homes hidden from colleagues, you will also be able to cut your carbon, land, and water footprints by doing so. Furthermore, if you really cannot afford to miss the video call then streaming videos in standard definition instead of high definition can also bring in an 86 percent reduction.
According to a study conducted by Purdue University in the US, it has been estimated that one hour of video call or streaming emits about 150 to 1000 grams of carbon dioxide. It can also consume up to 12 liters of water and the area of land that is usually equal to the size of an iPad mini.
Hence, as researchers suggest, leaving the camera off won’t only help you in keeping your messy homes hidden from colleagues, you will also be able to cut your carbon, land, and water footprints by doing so. Furthermore, if you really cannot afford to miss the video call then streaming videos in standard definition instead of high definition can also bring in an 86 percent reduction.
The study is the first of its kind that relates to how the infrastructure of the internet really creates its impact on water and land usage and not only just carbon emissions. Through it, we now estimate the association of carbon, water, and land with each gigabyte of data used for platforms like YouTube, Zoom, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or to do online gaming and general web surfing.
The conclusion made from this all is to lower down the footprint by less video consumption.
Moreover, one of the leaders of the study Kaveh Madani also gave an example of how the banking systems inform their customers about the positive environmental impact of going paperless, but at the same time, they don’t let people know about the benefits one can achieve by turning off your camera or streaming a video at lower quality. It is also safe to assume that all the platforms are increasing your environmental footprint through you and without your permission as well.
In order to process and transmit the data so that you are able to show your face to boss across the planet while sitting in your living room eventually consumes a lot of electricity as well. Fortunately, the data centers that process and store such information are becoming efficient with time but the production of energy will always be linked to carbon, water, or land footprints.
Apart from this all, the estimated carbon emissions, water consumption, and land usage also depend upon the platform that you are using and what country you live in. To prove this the researchers experienced that Germany (for instance) had much higher water and land footprints even after being called as the world leader for renewable energy.
Purdue Professor, Roshanak Nateghi still thinks that these estimates are rough as they have come directly from the internet service providers. The team, however, is hopeful that the information obtained will get people’s attention and make them realize about the potential environmental consequences we are bound to face with increased internet usage.
The conclusion made from this all is to lower down the footprint by less video consumption.
Moreover, one of the leaders of the study Kaveh Madani also gave an example of how the banking systems inform their customers about the positive environmental impact of going paperless, but at the same time, they don’t let people know about the benefits one can achieve by turning off your camera or streaming a video at lower quality. It is also safe to assume that all the platforms are increasing your environmental footprint through you and without your permission as well.
In order to process and transmit the data so that you are able to show your face to boss across the planet while sitting in your living room eventually consumes a lot of electricity as well. Fortunately, the data centers that process and store such information are becoming efficient with time but the production of energy will always be linked to carbon, water, or land footprints.
Apart from this all, the estimated carbon emissions, water consumption, and land usage also depend upon the platform that you are using and what country you live in. To prove this the researchers experienced that Germany (for instance) had much higher water and land footprints even after being called as the world leader for renewable energy.
Purdue Professor, Roshanak Nateghi still thinks that these estimates are rough as they have come directly from the internet service providers. The team, however, is hopeful that the information obtained will get people’s attention and make them realize about the potential environmental consequences we are bound to face with increased internet usage.
