The Internet enables free access to knowledge and free worldwide communication. But the world pays a price for it. Websites, streaming services, social media and email use electricity: around 1 PWh (petawatt hour) per year, which is 4% of global electricity consumption, generating around 432 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). If the internet were a country, it would be the third largest consumer in the world. But what can we do?
The project Minimal Carbon Internet by artist Michael Saup shows that there are options for action and that the power consumption of websites can be radically minimized. Minimal Carbon Site not only creates awareness of the connection between information and energy, it is a concrete technical solution: Saup has developed a version of the karlsruhe.digital website that reduces its ecological footprint by 95% without changing its look and functionality.
Minimal Carbon Internet is a project by Michael Saup in cooperation with karlsruhe.digital, the ZKM | Karlsruhe and UNESCO City of Media Arts.
The project will be presented at the #digiTALK on Thursday, 20 October in TRIANGEL Open Space.
Start: 7 pm, admission: 6:30 pm. The event is free of charge, registration is not required. Further information: www.digitalk-karlsruhe.de.