It doesn't all have to be doom and gloom

February 20, 2025 10:57 AM

We have demonstrated that, as is common in sustainability, appealingly simple narratives give way to complexity when you scratch the surface. Online energy consumption is full of trade-offs, and there are rarely one-size-fits all solutions. Interventions that reduce energy in one scenario may not be effective in another. from Does what you scroll burn coal? [BBC]
posted by chavenet (5 comments total)

Hmm. I just don't think turning the brightness down on my phone has any meaning whatsoever when like, Las Vegas exists. We need huge policy shifts. Failing that (it has already failed) we need to physically stop oil extraction.
posted by latkes at 11:41 AM on February 20 [6 favorites]

I'm glad that the BBC is actively looking into how online design and use affects power demand and the associated emissions.

However, what matters is total emissions over your whole life. A huge chunk of that comes from transportation - of yourself and of your goods. Being online has a massive impact on transportation.

I'm working from home hence not travelling into the city. That's a huge reduction in energy use and emissions.

I'm buying online, rather than driving to a shop. That item gets transported to my house, but that's now in a courier van doing 100 parcels in one trip, rather than in a personal vehicle doing one parcel in one trip.

So worrying about websites is only a small part of a much larger change in daily patterns and in consumption. The direct effect of websites on emissions is much smaller than the indirect effects of websites on lifestyles.
posted by happyinmotion at 11:45 AM on February 20 [8 favorites]

Worldwide energy consumption per capita is around 2500W, but a few times higher in rich countries. So a difference of a watt or two from adjusting screen brightness is pretty darn tiny in comparison and much smaller than many other changes you can make in your own life.
posted by ssg at 12:52 PM on February 20 [3 favorites]

Surely if we all turn our phones down to 20% brightness the planet will be saved. Oh wait, actually, this is yet another example of climate writing that plays into the longstanding media strategy of focusing on the myth that individual actions can trickle down into a big impact rather than pointing out the actual large actors and systems responsible for the situation. God I'm so tired of it.
posted by axiom at 5:20 PM on February 20 [4 favorites]

Everyone is Giving Up On Climate Goals — Sabine Hossenfelder
posted by jeffburdges at 2:07 PM on March 3