Turning Off Camera On Video Meetings Is Actually Good For The Environment
With the COVID-19 pandemic taking over our lives, the internet became our saviour. Whether it was working from home, studying from home or just killing time during the lockdown, the internet helped us survive the pandemic.
However, with Zoom calls becoming the norm, not many were comfortable with the idea of having the camera on at all times for conversing with team members. Even kids taking classes from home weren’t big fans of the idea. And now, research has revealed that turning the camera off could help the environment considerably -- as much as 96 percent.
This is according to research published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling. They analysed the carbon, water and land footprints associated with each gigabyte of data used in YouTube, Zoom, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other 13 platforms. It also looked at online games and web surfing.
They reveal that even though the pandemic has resulted in a considerable drop in the global carbon emissions, increase in at-home entertainment and remote working continues to present significant environmental impact because of how data is stored and transferred across the globe.
According to the study, some nations have spiked internet usage by at least 20 percent post lockdowns, and researchers claim that if this trend continues, it will require a forest twice the size of Indiana to offset the carbon emissions.
They discovered that more video used in an application, the larger was its footprint. One hour of video conferencing or streaming of movies emits between 150 and 1,000 grams of CO2. in comparison, a gallon of gasoline in a car emits around 8887 grams of CO2.
Researchers also revealed that if increased usage continues the additional water needed to process and transmit data could fill more than 300,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, and requiring land as large as Los Angeles.
Lead author Kaveh Madani, an environmental scientist at the Yale MacMillan Center explains, “Without your consent, these platforms are increasing your environmental footprint. Banking systems tell you the positive environmental impact of going paperless, but no one tells you the benefit of turning off your camera or reducing your streaming quality.”
Binging shows online in standard definition instead of HD could bring the consumption down by 86 percent. Being on a call with a video camera off could bring down the consumption by 96 percent.
So next time you switch the camera off and if someone complains, tell them it’s for the environment.