How the Internet's Carbon Footprint Surpasses Air Travel and What You Can Do Today
You might think flying is the worst thing you can do for the environment. But here's something that will shock you: the internet has a bigger carbon footprint than all of global air travel combined. Every email you send, every video you stream, and every photo you store in the cloud contributes to this invisible environmental cost.
Where Does Internet Carbon Come From
The internet releases around 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which accounts for 2 percent of the global carbon footprint. The main culprit is server farms. These massive data centers store all the information we use online, and they require enormous amounts of energy to power and cool the equipment running 24 hours a day.
Every time you search something, stream a show, or leave emails unopened, those servers keep working. Your unused emails, duplicate photos, and forgotten files are all sitting in data centers, consuming energy even when you're not actively using them.
Where Does Internet Carbon Come From
The internet releases around 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which accounts for 2 percent of the global carbon footprint. The main culprit is server farms. These massive data centers store all the information we use online, and they require enormous amounts of energy to power and cool the equipment running 24 hours a day. Every time you search something, stream a show, or leave emails unopened, those servers keep working. Your unused emails, duplicate photos, and forgotten files are all sitting in data centers, consuming energy even when you're not actively using them.
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