It’s a digital world – but do you know whether or not your technology is green? I would think that with the emails and social media, that means much less consumer waste in terms of paper usage. But that’s just one aspect of the way digital technology has taken over our lives. Here are some things you may not have thought about to green your tech:
Email is fantastic because you’re cutting down on wasting paper, but it isn’t without impact on the environment. Every time you send an email, you’re using about 4 grams of carbon. Approximately 1 year of email equals 300 lbs of CO2 emissions. Some tips to make your email greener are:
1. Stop replying to all: This sends separate emails to each person on your “reply-all” list, so it’s generating more carbon than just sending it to one person.
2. Unsubscribe: If you’re subscribed to a ton of mailing lists or store promotion emails that you automatically delete, take a minute to unsubscribe instead. This will save you the effort of having to weed through them, and will mean less carbon emissions sending those emails to you.
3. Delete accounts that you’re not using. If you’re not using a particular social media site you previously created an account for, deleting your account can decrease your carbon footprint.
4. Smartphones and tablets are more efficient on energy than a laptop or a desktop computer. Streaming a video rather than buying or renting a DVD (and keeping a DVD player constantly plugged in) has proven to be more energy-efficient according to Smithsonian.com. If you think about how often you use your DVD player compared to how long it sits around, plugged in and unused, that’s a lot of wasted electricity! (Click here to see my post on energy efficiency at home.)
How do you green your tech?
Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.