Just How Much of an Environmental Impact Does Watching Netflix Have? The Pebble Browser Extension Gives You the Hard Truth

With the massive growth of the internet over the past two decades, everything we do online has an impact on the environment. We’ve all probably heard of and already understand the concept of a “carbon footprint,” but sometimes we choose to be blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the impact, even with simple tasks like browsing the internet or watching an episode of a show. The series on Netflix may have. Fortunately, taking steps in the right direction can start with something as simple as installing a browser extension.

Pebble is a browser extension developed by a Mumbai-based software developer Antarctica global, focusing on sustainability and improving the environmental impact of technology.available Free installation Across a variety of compatible internet browsers, Pebble can calculate the environmental impact of your browsing and internet usage, taking into account factors such as location, bandwidth usage and more. All of this feeds into dynamic, real-time reporting that equates your digital carbon footprint with real-world impact.

Designed to be used as an internet browser on compatible devices (currently laptops and desktop computers), Pebble can be installed on the browser of your choice (Google Chrome on my MacOS) and monitor your data consumption and the content you visit specific sites with the aim of analyzing their environmental impact.

Pebble Antarctica Global Expansion 2 Pebble

Pebble monitors data consumption and uses this to estimate your electricity consumption and carbon footprint

Measure your carbon footprint in a relevant way

Your digital carbon footprint (the amount of carbon emissions attributable to your specific activities and technology use) is measured as the weight of carbon dioxide. For internet users, this is further measured by the amount of power your usage consumes. It’s important to note that this isn’t just the power used by your computer and Internet connection, but also the power used to provide you with the information or content you need.

This is done in the form of operating servers that store all your data so you can access it quickly and easily. As a result, streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video will use more data and energy, so even a one-hour episode will have a greater impact than an hour spent browsing a website or reading text content.

Pebble analyzes all of this to give you an estimate of your carbon footprint, the data consumed, and the electricity used to provide you with this data. It breaks all of this down into specific purchases based on the websites and services you visit. The basic expanded view also gives you comparisons such as how many plastic bottles or how many liters of fuel would create the same amount of carbon footprint.

Open the dashboard and you can see detailed breakdowns including site analytics, the community impact of doubling your usage based on the size and population of your location, and more. Luckily, Pebble doesn’t collect data, and all analysis is done on your device itself, based on specific parameters attached to your location and the developers’ knowledge of the carbon footprint of various websites and services.

Pebble monitors your carbon footprint based on your location

Interestingly, Pebble also considers a “carbon intensity factor” associated with your location, which itself is based on research into how those locations generate electricity. For example, one hour of watching Netflix in India has a greater impact than watching the same amount of time in some parts of Europe or Africa.

This is due to higher reliance on renewable energy, while India still relies heavily on coal for power generation. As a result, using that much power has a smaller impact and, in some places, a smaller digital carbon footprint.

We may not be able to change our habits overnight to minimize our carbon footprint, but awareness is the first step on the long road to sustainability. Pebble helps people realize the impact we have on the environment and how the simplest things like watching a video or surfing the internet contribute to alarming increases in carbon emissions around the world.


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