Did you know that we are emitting carbon dioxide when we stream a video, send an email, do a Google search, or even surf the internet? Well, we do. One google search consumes around 0.0003 kWh of electricity(1)- which, if the servers are in the US, emits around 0.13 grams of CO2(2). Browsing the internet on our phones for three hours uses about the same amount of electricity as having two 7W LED lamps lit for the same time(3). Emails contribute too, as "if every adult in the UK sent one fewer “thank you” email a day we would save more than 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year – equivalent to 81,152 flights to Madrid or taking 3,334 diesel cars off the road" (4). If ICT's internet servers were a country, their electricity consumption would be the same as the Netherlands’ usage – the country placed 32nd for electricity consumption (5).
Does that mean that we should cease all digital activities as it’s bad for the environment? Feel free to share your thoughts!
(1) https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/powering-google-search.html
(3) https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2020/2/climate-impact-of-digital-technology
But the "thank you" messages/e-mails can sometimes make/break somebody's day 🙁 I wouldn't say the same about marketing e-mails sent to a huge customer database.