S2 E20 The environmental cost of our digital world with Maikel Linke

In this episode I speak with Maikel Linke about the impact of our digital lives on the planet.  

Maikel lives in Newstead, just 10 minutes out of Castlemaine.  He runs a not for profit email service that makes your emailing as green as it can be.  We talk about what the physical requirements of our digital world really are, what cost they have for the environment and what choices we, the consumers, have.

Then at the end of episode I explore how and why e-waste needs to be recycled.

Links:

Maikel's not for profit environmentally friendly email service:

https://www.ethicalmail.org.au/

Maikel also works for the Open Food Network, who help farmers and producers sell their produce online:
https://about.openfoodnetwork.org.au/

 

A great info-graphic created to help explain what impact the internet has on the climate:  

https://climatecare.org/infographic-the-carbon-footprint-of-the-internet/

 

An organisation that helps you research how to make your web presence green, and to check if the sites you are using are too:
https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/

 

One of several apps that can help block ads while you are browsing:
https://adblockplus.org/

 

This is the map of the world showing the underwater cables that make the internet possible: 
https://www.submarinecablemap.com/

 

A Greenpeace initiative with research on companies helping turn the internet carbon neutral:

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/click-clean/

 

Recycling e-waste segment:

The article in The Conversation that was quotes in the episode:

https://theconversation.com/the-digital-economys-environmental-footprint-is-threatening-the-planet-126636

 

Sustainability Vic is a great resource if you are in Victoria, follow this link and search for how e-waste is collected in your region.

https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/eWaste

https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/eWaste/How-is-ewaste-processed-and-reused

 

Also look up your local council website for more information on waste management and recycling in general.