You can do a very easy thing: delete your old emails. They are also stored and saved somewhere and require energy. There is for example cleanfox to make it easier and they even plant trees, if you invite someone else to do the same.
'Every single action we take has an impact' - Absolutely true! The sooner all of us understand this, the better for the world. It's okay if we are not perfectly zero waste, vegan, plastic free, etc. because even if we were perfect, we'll still cause an impact in someway. Rather than focusing on perfection (which can be a lot of pressure!), we need to be aware of our impact and do the best we can to sustain our environment!
Completely agree, I always say that the only thing we cannot afford to do is being indifferent. We have to contribute and there are many steps we can take. Screw the labels and what everything is called, as long as we are taking action 🌴
I don't feel so bad now that in my early teens I would have spent over a 1000 dollars on my dvd collection. I'm going to keep an eye out at thrift stores too, they have so many.
I love that you try so hard to make everyone interested un thees topics. Usually i'm really sad because i think that very little people are really taking care of the planet. But then i see your videos and think about all the people that see them too. I warms my heart to know that little by little more and more people are trying. I am getting my family into this slowly as well and i'm so happy about that. A big hug from Argentina to everyone who needs it.
Sending hugs from Germany back! Yes, i'm so glad for every other person leaning to a more sustainable lifestyle. The best we can do is to show the people around us that living sustainable is fun and not such hard work, so more and more come join this lifestyle 🤗 (With my friends and family it worked really good, some of them saw it, and they slowly started to adapt it ♡)
loved the video :) Because of the energy it costs to store email in datacenters, I recently deleted over 15.000 of my emails! I now have less then 400 left: warranties, paychecks and some memorabilia (digital old concerttickets etc.) It was quite a task, but I'm happy I did, now i have the added bonus of finding something wen necessary ;)
I'll say at least, turn off your wifi when you don't use it! I don't understand people that keep it open. Further details would be interesant to search for, like what is more impactful, to download fils or to watch them online... I checked the informations about the source of energy of servers. To resume, the most popular one are the more sustainble. I am not sure if it would be better to support big companies that have more power to determine those factors and manage them... Maybe it is just me that do not more rely or trust big companies. the information about the equal impact of internet and air transportation made me think that I was overthinking my way of travel just from tunisia to sardaigna (italy). And was searching whithout finding convencing informations if it is better to use airplane or boats. this would be an good subject to develop in the next video ;) Sorry for the long comment!
I also said "defeat the huns" in my head haha. I love this topic! I recently started a series on my channel about "waste no one talks about" and I think a lot of invisible waste falls into that category. SO HELPFUL, THANK YOU! I will certainly be more mindful about how much I am on the internet.
According to my dad, a hardware engineer, the data centers could be much more efficient. As the hardware of these places have developed and improved, the software hasn't done the same. This means that the hardware is so good that the software doesn't have to be - BUT, if the software was better, it wouldn't require as much hardware and as much energy to deliver the same performance. The industry of software development is unfortunately mostly focusing on building their software ON TOP of these outdated systems, instead of changing the systems to be more energy-efficient. This has apparently been an issue for a while, even though talented software engineers do exist and could possibly make the data centers more eco-friendly - if only they prioritized it. I wonder what it would take to turn that industry onto being more conscious of their footprint?
Obviously some of the data centers are run on sustainable energy sources or maybe that's the goal for some, but it would still be better if they just didn't need as much energy, which again, is most likely possible.
I really appreciate this! I have only recently thought about this lately. And since isolation I have been more conscious about what and how I stream. Its all very interesting, I used to be confused about Ecosia worked when I first heard of it however it's been a few years and Ecosia is so great and I couldn't recommend it enough to my friends! Thankyou!!!
I never thought of the internet having an environmental impact (other than the electricity it takes to physically power them). Thanks for teaching me about data centres and the ClickClean report! Great video.
MAN! They need to stop mining the land and put on some hazmat suits on and mine the dang landfills for goodness sake! All the resources they'll ever need again are there.
LOVED this vid as always girl!! ✌🏻🌿❤ My boyfriend used to put Netflix on and then go on his phone or fall asleep.... while I stood staring at him like 'whaaaat??!!' *face palm* thankfully I have trained him (lol) out of this and now we chat or read or sit happily in silence... SO much better!! And now I know better for the earth too 🌍❤ Hugs from the UK xx
Wow, so informative! Even though I've been into sustainability and zero wasting for about a year now, I had no idea. Do these same things apply to downloading music or torrents as well?
Hi Gittemary, I would really like to see a video specifically about Ecosia! I have always been a bit quite sceptical about it, because I heard so many bad stories about other 'treeplanting' initiatives being not sustainable at all.
I found zero-waste and sustainability channels scrolling mindlessly. So I'd say the wins are worth the losses. The amount of information and knowledge you're able to acquire thanks to the internet is enormous, and a part of that is learning about eco-friendly living and how to be less wasteful. Those CO2 emissions may very well be worth it in the long run. P.S. I'd love to get my hands on some hard data about internet pollution. Definitely an important research focus.
I use the Internet a lot as background noise for comfort... I could get a second hand cd player and put my cds to use or DVDs. Not as great as nothing (which I will try sometimes) but better than streaming.
I had my pictures and valuable stuff on an external harddrive that got corrupted! I could not access anything on it. So if you can get a hold of a second one second hand, you should really have a backup. I was lucky to have a colleague that could restore some of the harddrive so that I got some of the pictures back 😅😬 Thanks for your great content!
My son works for a company in IT, data centers updates the hardware constantly as well. The company he works for actually is able to keep the hardware and reuse it to build computers with reused parts. I was horrified when I found out that some parts are replaced as soon as 3 to 6 months because there is a newer faster component.
Tough one, the newer is mostly more energy efficient. Why burn electricity with a 14nm processor when you can get a 5nm one today that uses 1/4th the power? Bad thing is, that dumped 14nm processor is perfect for personal use as desktop, set top box or home server and probably better than what people use now. How to get it there? In the past I could get cheap data center chips and install them in my MacPro, but that day is long gone. Apple means glue blobs today and iFixit scores of 1.
An eye opening video! Thank you very much. The Internet is such a huge part of my life, I didn't even think about it that way. And I just wanted to say even though thrifted USBs may be tempting, they can be really dangerous, when they are storing a virus. So please be careful
1st time viewer. I just recently learned about the data centers as it relates to digital clutter(i.e emails galore). TH-cam is really the only streaming I do but I definitely sometimes use it as background noise or watch 5 too many videos that my life would've been fine without. Thanks for the info.
Okay I am not understanding something, you say stay offline a much as possible but yet your charging 49$ dollars for a online course on being sustainable. Not to be funny but why would I pay 💰 for things I can find free online... I think that would be more sustainable on my wallet. This is no shade what so ever I am really want to understand
Arkia Bethay You don’t have to pay for anything you don’t want to 😊 I specifically said it seems unrealistic to cut out streaming all together but rather to watch stuff that matters to you. I think it’s detrimental to assume that something online cannot be sustainable because it is online, and if streaming a course is what it takes for some to change the way they shop, eat and live, that impact will be accounted for many times over.
Gittemary Johansen thank you for explaining …………… I did not mean to ruffle your feathers…… I really like your content …… I do learn a lot of things watching your videos
Oh wow I honestly thought that like a computer when it's off or an external harddrive, it didn't need power to store stuff. Also with internet being like an electromagnetic wave I didn't think it required actually power to be running in sites. I kinda thought it was all satellites (I figured it was solar powered lol) and the towers to create the grid and connection/circuit. So I always figured email and messaging was better than paper writing. Wow... plus those sites look old fashioned...no wonder they're still on fossil fuels.
No energy is used when the harddrive is turned off. It can keep data for 10-20 years without a single spin. TH-cam stores most content on SSD's, but obscure stuff resides on spinning disks. Try to view 1-2 subscriber channels. Their content can take ages to load as it has to be dug up from some distant corner of their server array.
As it is with just about everything in life, the old adage runs true... “Everything in moderation.” Thanks for this video Gittemary, it was very informative. I really appreciate all the research that you do, and also your attention to detail in your work. Thanks again, and have great Sunday.
Definetely more sustainable when people use it. I think classic FM stations have a good user base. DAB is more energy efficient (smaller antennas, smaller reach), but really tough to use as there are still very few devices for it. We also have great digital television (free to view, fullHD), but since nobody uses it, it is probably not good on energy use per viewer, and I think it will be dropped after 2030 when the license ends. The company behind it does not advertise for the free product they have to deliver because of their government contract, they want you to pay premium to get the television streamed on their fibre plans.
Yeah, I think that's important! Last time I mentioned something the the impact of streaming, so many people were like" don't you work online though" 🌴😅
Girl I have been binge watching so much with this quarantine tbh (I have depression so I’m not gonna hate myself too much because sometimes I can’t get outta bed) and this video really made me go nah and turn off the tv when you were done talking and I’m gonna do something that doesn’t require internet. Thank you!
Aw gorl my heart goes out to you! I am so happy that this motivated you, but it seem that you are also in a place where you recognise that sometimes it's okay, especially if you are taking care of your mental health! I hope you're finding a good balance 🌿💚
Gittemary Johansen I’m really trying to find it, and I appreciate you still putting out informative and entertaining content ❤️ I hope you’re doing good as well love
Gittemary Johansen Today, I am going through all my old VHS tapes and the ones that were given to me and I’m rewinding and choosing what I want to keep lol
I love Ecosia too but its performance is not as good as Google in terms of the results of websites or pictures. Especially in my country Ecosia is not common and that's why I can't get the most out of it. :(
I actually thought the internet was "free space" all my life. I had no idea these data centers had such impact. Thank you for this video.
I thought so as well for the longest time as well 🌴
You can do a very easy thing: delete your old emails. They are also stored and saved somewhere and require energy. There is for example cleanfox to make it easier and they even plant trees, if you invite someone else to do the same.
'Every single action we take has an impact' - Absolutely true! The sooner all of us understand this, the better for the world. It's okay if we are not perfectly zero waste, vegan, plastic free, etc. because even if we were perfect, we'll still cause an impact in someway. Rather than focusing on perfection (which can be a lot of pressure!), we need to be aware of our impact and do the best we can to sustain our environment!
Completely agree, I always say that the only thing we cannot afford to do is being indifferent. We have to contribute and there are many steps we can take. Screw the labels and what everything is called, as long as we are taking action 🌴
I don't feel so bad now that in my early teens I would have spent over a 1000 dollars on my dvd collection. I'm going to keep an eye out at thrift stores too, they have so many.
this is fantastic and genuinely opened my eyes to a lot. this is great
I love that you try so hard to make everyone interested un thees topics. Usually i'm really sad because i think that very little people are really taking care of the planet. But then i see your videos and think about all the people that see them too. I warms my heart to know that little by little more and more people are trying. I am getting my family into this slowly as well and i'm so happy about that. A big hug from Argentina to everyone who needs it.
Sending hugs from Germany back! Yes, i'm so glad for every other person leaning to a more sustainable lifestyle. The best we can do is to show the people around us that living sustainable is fun and not such hard work, so more and more come join this lifestyle 🤗 (With my friends and family it worked really good, some of them saw it, and they slowly started to adapt it ♡)
loved the video :) Because of the energy it costs to store email in datacenters, I recently deleted over 15.000 of my emails! I now have less then 400 left: warranties, paychecks and some memorabilia (digital old concerttickets etc.) It was quite a task, but I'm happy I did, now i have the added bonus of finding something wen necessary ;)
I'll say at least, turn off your wifi when you don't use it! I don't understand people that keep it open.
Further details would be interesant to search for, like what is more impactful, to download fils or to watch them online...
I checked the informations about the source of energy of servers. To resume, the most popular one are the more sustainble. I am not sure if it would be better to support big companies that have more power to determine those factors and manage them... Maybe it is just me that do not more rely or trust big companies.
the information about the equal impact of internet and air transportation made me think that I was overthinking my way of travel just from tunisia to sardaigna (italy). And was searching whithout finding convencing informations if it is better to use airplane or boats. this would be an good subject to develop in the next video ;)
Sorry for the long comment!
I also said "defeat the huns" in my head haha. I love this topic! I recently started a series on my channel about "waste no one talks about" and I think a lot of invisible waste falls into that category. SO HELPFUL, THANK YOU! I will certainly be more mindful about how much I am on the internet.
According to my dad, a hardware engineer, the data centers could be much more efficient. As the hardware of these places have developed and improved, the software hasn't done the same. This means that the hardware is so good that the software doesn't have to be - BUT, if the software was better, it wouldn't require as much hardware and as much energy to deliver the same performance.
The industry of software development is unfortunately mostly focusing on building their software ON TOP of these outdated systems, instead of changing the systems to be more energy-efficient. This has apparently been an issue for a while, even though talented software engineers do exist and could possibly make the data centers more eco-friendly - if only they prioritized it.
I wonder what it would take to turn that industry onto being more conscious of their footprint?
Obviously some of the data centers are run on sustainable energy sources or maybe that's the goal for some, but it would still be better if they just didn't need as much energy, which again, is most likely possible.
I really appreciate this! I have only recently thought about this lately. And since isolation I have been more conscious about what and how I stream. Its all very interesting, I used to be confused about Ecosia worked when I first heard of it however it's been a few years and Ecosia is so great and I couldn't recommend it enough to my friends!
Thankyou!!!
I never thought of the internet having an environmental impact (other than the electricity it takes to physically power them). Thanks for teaching me about data centres and the ClickClean report! Great video.
MAN! They need to stop mining the land and put on some hazmat suits on and mine the dang landfills for goodness sake! All the resources they'll ever need again are there.
LOVED this vid as always girl!! ✌🏻🌿❤ My boyfriend used to put Netflix on and then go on his phone or fall asleep.... while I stood staring at him like 'whaaaat??!!' *face palm* thankfully I have trained him (lol) out of this and now we chat or read or sit happily in silence... SO much better!! And now I know better for the earth too 🌍❤ Hugs from the UK xx
Aw I am so happy that you liked the video! I used to need something to watch while I was falling asleep as well, SO happy I kicked that habit 🌴🌿
Wow, so informative! Even though I've been into sustainability and zero wasting for about a year now, I had no idea. Do these same things apply to downloading music or torrents as well?
I have a youtube addiction. Came here to hopefully get myself to be online less. Maybe I can do it if it's for the planet.
Hi Gittemary, I would really like to see a video specifically about Ecosia! I have always been a bit quite sceptical about it, because I heard so many bad stories about other 'treeplanting' initiatives being not sustainable at all.
I found zero-waste and sustainability channels scrolling mindlessly. So I'd say the wins are worth the losses. The amount of information and knowledge you're able to acquire thanks to the internet is enormous, and a part of that is learning about eco-friendly living and how to be less wasteful. Those CO2 emissions may very well be worth it in the long run.
P.S. I'd love to get my hands on some hard data about internet pollution. Definitely an important research focus.
I use the Internet a lot as background noise for comfort... I could get a second hand cd player and put my cds to use or DVDs. Not as great as nothing (which I will try sometimes) but better than streaming.
Super cool video !!
Fun fact - I stopped Snapchat and Twitter in 2017 because I read an article in a Science Newspaper hahah
Go team go! 💚
I paint almost all day (im a visual artist) and my motor is listen to music in Spotify or TH-cam while I do it :////// dont know what to do now...
How does one subscribe to your blogposts? I would rather read them than watch videos as it has a lower impact.
I had my pictures and valuable stuff on an external harddrive that got corrupted! I could not access anything on it. So if you can get a hold of a second one second hand, you should really have a backup. I was lucky to have a colleague that could restore some of the harddrive so that I got some of the pictures back 😅😬
Thanks for your great content!
This is the video I wanted you to make but look you already made it!! Yay!😅
Thank you for this video. I never considered these things before!
My son works for a company in IT, data centers updates the hardware constantly as well. The company he works for actually is able to keep the hardware and reuse it to build computers with reused parts. I was horrified when I found out that some parts are replaced as soon as 3 to 6 months because there is a newer faster component.
Tough one, the newer is mostly more energy efficient. Why burn electricity with a 14nm processor when you can get a 5nm one today that uses 1/4th the power?
Bad thing is, that dumped 14nm processor is perfect for personal use as desktop, set top box or home server and probably better than what people use now. How to get it there? In the past I could get cheap data center chips and install them in my MacPro, but that day is long gone. Apple means glue blobs today and iFixit scores of 1.
So are DVD’s more sustainable?
I love the way you truly analyze every aspect. I learned so much! Thank you!
Such an important video!!!
Which is the more sustainable? Reading a phisical book, or watching youtube? I can not read on devices unfortunately. Tgank you for this video 🙏💕
You're invaluable to the online discussion of climate adaption
wow, thank you!
An eye opening video! Thank you very much. The Internet is such a huge part of my life, I didn't even think about it that way.
And I just wanted to say even though thrifted USBs may be tempting, they can be really dangerous, when they are storing a virus. So please be careful
1st time viewer. I just recently learned about the data centers as it relates to digital clutter(i.e emails galore). TH-cam is really the only streaming I do but I definitely sometimes use it as background noise or watch 5 too many videos that my life would've been fine without. Thanks for the info.
You continue to be an inspiration. This is such an informative video and an issue, like you said, most people don't even think about! :)
Thank you for feeding me with important, but also entertaining Content 🤗 Love that balance
This is actually one of my favorite videos you have put out! I've been watching movies more through Blurays lately for this very reason! I love it!
Thanks so much for this video ♥️ truly informative 💚
i’m wondering your thoughts on many minimalists (and many other people) who are turning to digitise their lives
Okay I am not understanding something, you say stay offline a much as possible but yet your charging 49$ dollars for a online course on being sustainable. Not to be funny but why would I pay 💰 for things I can find free online... I think that would be more sustainable on my wallet. This is no shade what so ever I am really want to understand
Arkia Bethay You don’t have to pay for anything you don’t want to 😊 I specifically said it seems unrealistic to cut out streaming all together but rather to watch stuff that matters to you. I think it’s detrimental to assume that something online cannot be sustainable because it is online, and if streaming a course is what it takes for some to change the way they shop, eat and live, that impact will be accounted for many times over.
Gittemary Johansen thank you for explaining …………… I did not mean to ruffle your feathers…… I really like your content …… I do learn a lot of things watching your videos
You can also purchase a personal cloud, its an external hardrive you can connect to your home network and access anywhere.
La motivación que necesitaba para minimizar mi conexión 🦝 Gracias!
Dit engelsk er ret så flot. Kom fra en reklame og blev nysgerrig og nu må jeg se mere.. Fedt indhold
Oh wow I honestly thought that like a computer when it's off or an external harddrive, it didn't need power to store stuff. Also with internet being like an electromagnetic wave I didn't think it required actually power to be running in sites. I kinda thought it was all satellites (I figured it was solar powered lol) and the towers to create the grid and connection/circuit. So I always figured email and messaging was better than paper writing. Wow... plus those sites look old fashioned...no wonder they're still on fossil fuels.
No energy is used when the harddrive is turned off. It can keep data for 10-20 years without a single spin. TH-cam stores most content on SSD's, but obscure stuff resides on spinning disks. Try to view 1-2 subscriber channels. Their content can take ages to load as it has to be dug up from some distant corner of their server array.
Awesome video, thanks for that!!
As it is with just about everything in life, the old adage runs true... “Everything in moderation.” Thanks for this video Gittemary, it was very informative. I really appreciate all the research that you do, and also your attention to detail in your work. Thanks again, and have great Sunday.
Thank you so much, I am glad you enjoyed the video! 💚
Thank you for this video! I had no idea it had this much of an impact.
I love that shirt! It looks Japanese. 😍 I want it
So good to hear these issues being discussed so accessibly, thank you!
Luckily my library has an enormous media collection, and I’m grateful that other people can get a whole bunch of use out of it too!
That's AMAZING 😍
Omg I had no idea. Thank you for doing this
really informative, thank you!
Could you do a video on the concept of the radio? Is it similar to the internet or maybe more sustainable? 📟
Definetely more sustainable when people use it. I think classic FM stations have a good user base. DAB is more energy efficient (smaller antennas, smaller reach), but really tough to use as there are still very few devices for it. We also have great digital television (free to view, fullHD), but since nobody uses it, it is probably not good on energy use per viewer, and I think it will be dropped after 2030 when the license ends. The company behind it does not advertise for the free product they have to deliver because of their government contract, they want you to pay premium to get the television streamed on their fibre plans.
I really liked that you acknowledged you can use the internet and benefit from it and still be critical of it too!
Yeah, I think that's important! Last time I mentioned something the the impact of streaming, so many people were like" don't you work online though" 🌴😅
Your content is amazing! Thank you ❤️
Girl I have been binge watching so much with this quarantine tbh (I have depression so I’m not gonna hate myself too much because sometimes I can’t get outta bed) and this video really made me go nah and turn off the tv when you were done talking and I’m gonna do something that doesn’t require internet. Thank you!
Aw gorl my heart goes out to you! I am so happy that this motivated you, but it seem that you are also in a place where you recognise that sometimes it's okay, especially if you are taking care of your mental health! I hope you're finding a good balance 🌿💚
Gittemary Johansen I’m really trying to find it, and I appreciate you still putting out informative and entertaining content ❤️ I hope you’re doing good as well love
Gittemary Johansen Today, I am going through all my old VHS tapes and the ones that were given to me and I’m rewinding and choosing what I want to keep lol
Great video!
I love Ecosia too but its performance is not as good as Google in terms of the results of websites or pictures.
Especially in my country Ecosia is not common and that's why I can't get the most out of it. :(
Love The content!