Is our use of the Internet to blame for climate change?

[webfact]

Is our use of the Internet to blame for climate change?  

By THE NATION

 

 

Knowing Buddha Organisation (KBO) has launched a new campaign on climate change, blaming the Internet for causing rapid global temperature rise in the past two decades and calling for the public to cut down Internet usage as well as delete unnecessary digital data as much as possible.

 

“While it's true that greenhouse gases emissions are the main culprits of climate change, it's the surge in Internet use that has accelerated the warming to the crisis point,” said Acharavadee Wongsakon, the KBO’s president. “We’re urging you to take four hours to be completely offline. Turn off your router or put your phone on aeroplane mode at least once a week.”

 

 

The campaign was launched as part of the climate change seminar, “A Way Out of Climate Crisis: The Unspoken Truth”, organised by KBO Earth, a new unit established by the KBO to work on climate change issues and to share new information through numerous scientific facts and studies presented by prominent scientists and researchers. The event, chaired by Deputy Permanent-Secretary of Digital Economy and Society Ministry Somsak Khaosuwan, was attended by more than 400 participants from the public, private, and civil society sectors.

 

 

According to Lt Pitak Tiranakul, KBO Earth executive director, mobile phones, phone mast antennas (base stations), cordless phones, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth have carrier wave frequencies within the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Most Wi-Fi computers use 2.4GHz, the same frequency as microwave ovens.

 

 

As the laws of physics goes, energy does not disappear but only converts its form. Microwaves, when emitted from its sources, scatter through the atmosphere and can penetrate the surface, the water, ice and objects. There is water vapour in the air everywhere. When the wave travels through the air, the friction causes heating at the molecular level. The process is called Radio Frequency Heating. It is how food is cooked by microwave.

 

 

“While a few mobile devices may do no harm, the current number of mobile phone users, which stands at almost five billion so far, can turn the world into a giant microwave. The more digital data generated and stored, the more heated the atmosphere is heated. Data centers never sleep. They have to work 24/7 keeping the data available for us whenever we want it. Not only does the process consume huge amount of energy, but also generates so much heat most data centers are located in cold climate areas or equipped with comprehensive cooling systems all the time,” the radar and microwave expert pointed out. 

 

 

As for Thailand, Somsak said while Thailand is fully committed to make the Internet accessible to everyone in the country within a few years, the government has also prioritised increasing green areas in the country. So far, it has confiscated hundreds of thousands of acres from forest encroachers nationwide and reforested several areas.

 

 

Royal Forest Department Director-General Attaphol Charoenchansa said in his speech that the Thai government has tried to increase forest cover on both public and private land by promoting reforestation that also has economic value.

 

 

“The cabinet has recently approved the amendment of forest laws to allow the use of trees grown in these forests. The department has also enforced the law against encroachers more strictly with more severe penalties. Our goal is to turn more than half of the country’s total area into forests.”

Meanwhile, what Thailand and the world can do is to minimise the Internet usage and delete unnecessary digital data from smartphones, cloud system, computers and the Internet system, Acharavadee said, noting these actions could quickly ease the problem. This is deemed necessary in light of the 2018 UN Special Report’s statement that climate change impacts would be irreversible unless the world is able to cap the temperatures to not exceed 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels within 12 years.

 

 

The organisation plans to send a letter to Google Inc to ask the tech giant to issue a policy to delete old, unnecessary data from its servers in order to free up space for new data storage and avoid the need to build more data centers. It will also send a letter to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) asking it to look into this issue closely.

Last November, the KBO sent an open letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for the international community's attention to the issue and promote public awareness and encourage people to cut down Internet use while planting more trees in their communities.

 

 

“We need to start now because the climate change problem is now at crisis point. Humans must slow down all Internet-related activities and innovation. We have to be less dependent on technology and the Internet and return to more natural living,” the KBO president said.

 

Source: http://www.nationthailand.com/lifestyle/30372175

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-03

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[lupin]

and the billions of emails alone sent daily can instead be sent at a speedy 60 - 90 days using trains/planes/horses/cars/trucks and ships... with zero carbon footprint

[keith101]

From what I've seen most Thai use the internet on their mobiles which I doubt would have any effect on climate change but yes definitely plant more trees and stop burning especially when still green .

[OneMoreFarang]

Our use, or not use, of our brains is to blame.

[shady86]

Stop wasting papers and messengers. That would much better for Thailand.

[RotMahKid]

What a nonsense and again an organization that collect a lots of money, to pay their top-jobs, what a waste of money. Fake news, next subject please.

[londonthai]

they are lunatics, taking people back to middle, dark ages, where they be able to brainwash population with religious dogmatism. Thai version of american mormons.

 

it is capitalism, and it's greed for maximising profit, which exploits natural resources and destroys environment. 

Edited July 3, 2019 by londonthai

[Chazar]

Too many people is the cause the internet has probably saved countless  billions of tons of paper waste....................except in Thailand where youll  need  10  copies of everything, signed, then stamped.

That organisation is  nuts.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, lupin said:

and the billions of emails alone sent daily can instead be sent at a speedy 60 - 90 days using trains/planes/horses/cars/trucks and ships... with zero carbon footprint

And stop eating baked beans.

Forgot, cut down more trees for paper making or use plastic letters.

Edited July 3, 2019 by overherebc

[VocalNeal]

I read somewhere that if the internet were a country it would be fifth on the list of highest energy users 

[marko kok prong]

Whilst there maybe some truth in this it would be such a minor one as to be negligable,coal,gas,oil,the main problems,anyway don't worry things have gone to far already,tipping point arriving soon, ,read Mark Lynas "six degree world" that's where we are heading.

[Emdog]

3 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I read somewhere that if the internet were a country it would be fifth on the list of highest energy users 

Reading something.... gotta be true or they couldn't write it. Try to find source for this absurd bit of misinformation

[Orton Rd]

 

“While it's true that greenhouse gases emissions are the main culprits of climate change'

 

Is it? I thought co2 makes up only 0.4% of the atmosphere and of that small amount 97% is naturally produced and only 3% of that 0.4% is man made. Man made global warming is a myth, caused by the internet is just a joke.

[brain150]

1 minute ago, Orton Rd said:

 

“While it's true that greenhouse gases emissions are the main culprits of climate change'

 

Is it? I thought co2 makes up only 0.4% of the atmosphere and of that small amount 97% is naturally produced and only 3% of that 0.4% is man made. Man made global warming is a myth, caused by the internet is just a joke.

NO, man made climate change is very real !

It's just completely different than you think or what they want you to believe.

 

.. and Co2 is 0.04% not 0.4% !

 

 

[Youlike]

3 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I read somewhere that if the internet were a country it would be fifth on the list of highest energy users 

And what about bitcoins? They also cost loads and loads of energy to be mined.

[johng]

3 hours ago, Chazar said:

Too many people is the cause

Yes  I agree 100 %  the totally unchecked human population explosion is what is/will destroy this planet.

[Skallywag]

yes it is us - the ubiquitous homo sapien, especially in developed countries. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/emissions-reduction-choices-1.4204206 

emissions-choices.webp

[Krataiboy]

My theory is that any global warming is not the result of man-made CO2 emissions, but all the hot air pumped out by climate alarmists with a poitical agenda.

 

In the case of Thailand, "saving" national forest land is an excuse for booting impoverished subsistence farmers and their families  off land where they have traditionally scraped a living.

 

More generally, climate change paranoia has been weaponised by the corporate/political oligarchy as a means of exerting control over the entire planet and all its resources, not least its human "capital".

 

The reality is that rising CO2 levels are a major factor in the ongoing healthy greening of our planet and higher agricultural crop yields. 

 

Perhaps the veggie brains at KBO should try a whiff or two.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by Krataiboy

[yellowboat]

Like many climate many who wish to ride the climate change gravy train, they do not have much proof.   Trees clean the air and water.   Elephants spur forest growth.   Though your phone may be bad for your brain, it is doubtful it has much of an effect on the temperature of the earth. 

[DrTuner]

They are right. It's all the hot air emanating from the online forums that raises the temps. Shut 'em down, start obviously with the anti-junta ones, then those critical of China and then the rest.

[TKDfella]

The issues for Climate Change and Global Warming are far more complex, and debates get 'heated' very quickly so I'll say no more...except...I wonder if all those attending walked to the venue?

[DrTuner]

4 hours ago, Chazar said:

Too many people is the cause the internet has probably saved countless  billions of tons of paper waste....................except in Thailand where youll  need  10  copies of everything, signed, then stamped.

That organisation is  nuts.

Might as well plug this one again: https://populationmatters.org/

 

Sir Attenborough has a good one as well. 

 

 

[userabcd]

Unfortunately unchecked population growth and their destruction and consumption of earth's natural resources are the main root causes of global climate change.

[30la]

How many diminished, 8 billions of people, the factories, the vehicles, all the animals that we raise to feed ourselves, the many fireworks and then the huge fires to burn waste, fields and forests.
It seems to me that this organization and many others do not like to be more and more transparent!

[Bluespunk]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Is our use of the Internet to blame for climate change?  

No, it’s our arrogance and unwillingness to change our behaviour, the desire for cheap and disposable options, the demand for convenience over sustainable, combined with the greed of those profiting from environmentally destructive industries, that are responsible.  

[zydeco]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile, what Thailand and the world can do is to minimise the Internet usage and delete unnecessary digital data from smartphones, cloud system, computers and the Internet system, Acharavadee said, noting these actions could quickly ease the problem.

And this information is provided to you through The Nation, which recently ceased publishing its version in hardcopy and went all digital. Where to start, then, with that "unnecessary digital data," hmmm?

[Orton Rd]

Yes 0.04, total nonsense to claim a 3% rise there has led to much greater temperatures, it's a natural cycle of heating and cooling, been going on for millions of years.

[Jane Dough]

I saw some burning going on at a Buddhist temple. Plenty of pollution there.

 

What was that all about?

 

Rooster

[DrTuner]

1 minute ago, Jane Dough said:

I saw some burning going on at a Buddhist temple. Plenty of pollution there.

 

What was that all about?

 

Rooster

They were probably roasting a politician. Beware the particles are toxic. Inhaling might lead to acute political poisoning.

[from the home of CC]

imo greed is the main contributor to pollution, try to legislate that vice away lol..