ECO WEB HOSTING: A MAJOR BOON FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

If it’s not your first time here, then you already know that we at CBBC care very deeply about the environment. It was, in fact, the mind-boggling amount of trash on the beach that acted as the eye-opener that started the whole Clean The Beach Bootcamp movement. Since then, we have been very active in spreading environmental awareness among the general public with articles such as 6-types-of-water-pollution. And today, we bring to your attention Eco Web Hosting and its role in tackling the environmental crisis that human developmental activities have brought upon our planet.

If you’re wondering what web hosting is and what it has to do with you, you’re using their services right now. That is because nowadays, practically everything and everyone is on the internet. And what enables the internet are hosting servers. Web hosting is the business of renting out space in these servers to host the websites of businesses and individuals.

There are millions of data centres worldwide that house these hosting servers. To keep them running 24/7 requires a lot of resources and, in most cases, causes tremendous amounts of pollution, both of which take a heavy toll on the environment. If you’re not shocked yet, then perhaps some statistics can help be the eye-opener.

The Cost Of Non-Eco Web Hosting:

• Not so long ago, in 2016, when  Britain’s total power usage was about 300 terawatt hours, data centres all over the world that housed hosting servers, used up 416.2 terawatt hours. 
• Worldwide, these data centres are responsible for 3% of the total power usage and about 2% of the greenhouse gas emitted globally.
• America alone has over 3 million data centres, and they use almost 2% of the total electricity used by the entire country. That is the equivalent of how much power 5 nuclear power plants use!
• The number of data centres around the world is rapidly increasing. Just in 2012, when only half of the world was on the internet, the total data centres numbered around 500,000. Today, that number is more than 8 million!
• The web-hosting industry now emits as much pollution as the aviation industry!

And this is just the tip of the iceberg! Left unchecked, the web hosting industry will cause unimaginable harm to the environment as the internet grows even further. You can read up on this issue in much more detail here – How Do Hosting Servers Impact the Environment?

There is, however, some good news. Individuals are especially choosing to host their websites using Eco web hosting servers. As the awareness amongst the general public regarding the environmental crisis grows, more and more corporates, too, are inclining towards eco-friendly choices. So let’s see why one should go the Eco Web Hosting way.

The Benefits Of Eco Web Hosting

As you know by now, regular web hosting leaves quite an impact on the environment. Eco web hosting is the practice of hosting servers in a more environmentally friendly way, such as using renewable energy. A perfect example of a company that provides eco web hosting services is Orange Website which hosts its servers in Iceland. 

There are many advantages to having your servers in a cold location like Iceland. One of the main expenses hosting centres and data centres incur is the air conditioning and coolant required to keep the systems from overheating. That cost comes down considerably when your servers are located in Iceland! 

Additionally, Iceland obtains all of its energy from renewable sources such as geothermal and hydroelectric. So when individuals and corporations choose a company like OrangeWebsite.com, they support green energy. And to help offset the damage already done by the server hosting industry, OrangeWebsite, through their Canopy Project, plants between 240 to 1000 trees every month! 

So it’s not just cost-effective but also environmentally friendly to use the services of an Eco Web Hosting company. But that’s not it, and there’s more, especially when it comes to corporate who would love to have a pro-green public image.

Environmentally Conscious Corporates Are Choosing Eco Web Hosting

Much more than individuals, businesses, especially, like to have a positive public image. And given the rising awareness amongst the general public regarding the current environmental crisis and the role of businesses in propagating this crisis, a pro-green image is a must for businesses. Well, there is good news on that front!

When you choose to use eco web hosting services such as that provided by Orange Website, you get a Green Seal, which proves that your website is hosted on eco-friendly servers. Displaying this seal on your website lets your visitors and potential customers know that yours is an environmentally conscious business. That is one excellent reason to choose your business over those that don’t particularly care about the environment.

Who Else Is Shifting To Eco Web Hosting?

Now it’s not just the small & big corporate businesses that are worried about their public image and shifting to eco-friendly practices such as shooting their website to eco-hosting servers. Even Gaming communities, such as those running dedicated game servers like the hundreds of thousands of people who play the Minecraft Java Servers and discussion boards, are moving to eco-hosting solutions.

A very good example is Salty Zombies, which shifted its dedicated RUST servers to Orange Website. Salty Zombies run one of the best RUST aim training, PVP Servers and the overly modded RUST PVE Server, with thousands of online players using their services. That certainly indicates there are no performance issues with using eco-hosting servers. And you can see them proudly displaying the Green Seal on their website, giving gamers even more reason to subscribe to their servers. If you are interested in that, you can join their RUST Discord.

Conclusion

As you have seen so far, the standard old-school way of web hosting causes significant harm to the environment. But there is a perfect alternative solution available: Eco Web Hosting. And as we have mentioned above, there are many benefits to choosing eco-web hosting. So as a business, if you haven’t done so already, you must consider shifting to a green hosting solution. And as an individual or customer, when you start supporting more environmentally conscious businesses, more businesses will begin to move eco-hosting because nothing moves corporations as much as public opinion does!

EU to ban single-use plastic

The word is out. One of the top-tier officials of the European Union has let out that legislation to curb the increasing amount of plastic waste in Europe is on its way. This wonderful news of a wide-scale ban on single-use plastic comes from none other than the European Commission’s first vice president, Frans Timmermans.

We must be thankful to Michael Gove, Britain’s environment minister, who in his attempt to jibe at the European Commission, in turn, got out the good news from Timmermans, in advance. Gove, a fervent supporter of Brexit, had insinuated how creating and implementing environmental laws in the UK such as banning plastic straws, would be a hassle if it were under the EU. Gove gave the impression that certain measures to protect the environment that Britain would like to implement, cannot be taken while still under the EU.

The British minister’s words were, however, very well received by Timmermans, who it seems jumped at this opportunity and took to social media to send out the news of the action planned against single-use plastic across the EU. Timmermans tweeted to Gove: “One step ahead of you. EU legislation on single use plastics coming before the summer. Maybe you can align with us?”. The former vice president’s reply was sharp, yet humorous with his choice of words that included among several others the hashtag #EUDoesntSuck!

Speaking to Sky News, Gove, citing the example of plastic straws being a scourge to the planet, took a firm stand against plastic. Exclaiming the numerous ways in which single-use plastic is polluting our oceans and damaging the marine ecosystem, the minister pointed to the urgent need for some concrete steps in-order-to protect the environment.

Although he is not wrong in his stand against plastic, Mr Gove, however, forgot about Scotland. A part of the UK, but still very much within the European Union, Scotland, soon after banning cotton buds made of plastic, now plans to get rid of plastic straws by 2019. You can read about it here –  Councils across Scotland, ban plastic straws. The fight against plastic is undoubtedly gaining voice as more and more prominent people are becoming vocal about it. Recently, David Attenborough convinced the BBC and the Queen of England to ban single-use plastic.

At a recent conference in Brussels, Timmermans pointed out the urgent need for curbing plastic consumption. Timmermans words could not be more real for Europeans, especially given that China has now decided to limit its plastic waste imports. He also stressed the importance of working together with businesses to curb plastic consumption, find efficient ways to reuse and recycle and most importantly to prevent any leakage of microplastic. And the folks in Britain need not worry, since, till the Brexit is fully implemented, the new EU legislation would apply to the UK too.

It is such news from different parts of the world that is adding a much-needed momentum to the fight against single-use plastic. Reports of one nation banning plastic straws or bags or cups etc. encourage and inspire the next nation to do the same. So let us all, first as individuals, make changes in our lifestyle to reduce plastic consumption and then, help educate others into adopting an environmentally friendly lifestyle. If you feel we are on the same side, then help us spread awareness by sharing this article with your friends.

Massive Microplastic Contamination Detected In Seals & Deep-Sea Fishes

Plastic has infiltrated into the very depths of the ocean. 75% of the mesopelagic fish in the North Atlantic, a popular food item for the oceans primary predators, have tested positive for microplastic fibres in their system. The researchers further confirmed the presence of microplastic in the scat of grey seals and also in the Atlantic mackerel, eaten by the seals.

These shocking facts come to light as another team of scientists, have, in the United Kingdom, discovered microplastic fibres even in the excretion of seals kept in captivity. Further investigating the food chain, confirmed the presence of plastic in the Atlantic mackerel that these seals routinely feed on. Details of this study have been published in the journal – Environmental Pollution. Various studies have made it evident that the microscopic plastic presence is no longer just limited to the marine animals feeding near the water surface but also to those living in the deeper ends of the ocean

Scientists estimate that the plastic in the ocean will overweigh the fishes in there by 2050.

Another recent study in which scientists examined over 233 fishes caught from a remote area in the North Atlantic that is east of Canada’s Newfoundland revealed similarly shocking results. Approximately 73% of these fishes had micro-plastic contamination in their digestive tract. The sample fishes included many varieties of bristlemouth fish, Bean’s sawtoothed eel, lanternfish etc. Since the expedition was conducted many hundred miles away from any coastline, Alina Wieczorek, lead author and a National University of Ireland Galway’s PhD candidate, was surprised at the level of contamination discovered from the study. It is clear now that plastic pollution has infiltrated even the remotest areas of the ocean and is impacting pivotal ecological players such as the mesopelagic fish. The team of scientists too, conducting the study, were highly concerned at finding such amounts of micro-plastic in the mesopelagic fish.

Wieczorek was also partly surprised since the amount of micro-plastic found was much higher compared to the previous two studies which had found 11% and between 9-35% contamination respectively. These differences, according to Wieczorek, could be explained by the difference in the precision of the research method used. This research made use of an alkaline dissolution which was much more concentrated to separate the plastic particles from the guts and further a very fine mesh filter was used to catch even the smallest plastic pieces. Scientists from this latest expedition noted that these extremely small plastic particles make up almost 20% of the total sample, which could also explain the difference in contamination levels found in the different studies conducted.

Another interesting thing to note is that pretty much all of the plastic collected from the surface water as well as those from the fishes were plastic fibres. These plastic fibres come mostly from woven materials such as clothes or the fishing gear ropes. Clothes that use plastic material shed thousands of such microplastic fibres, especially when washed. For this reason, the scientists had to be extra careful not to let plastic fibres from their own clothes fall into the test sample.

A significant portion of the ocean’s biomass is the deep-sea fishes. These fishes, during the daytime, mainly reside in the mesopelagic zone at depths of up to 3000 ft, but swim up to feed in the nutrient-rich surface water. The plastic fibres collected from the surface water and the deep sea fishes had identical colour, shape and size, indicating that these fishes most likely consumed the plastic from the surface waters during their routine migration to the top where they feed during the daytime.

The problem of plastic in the mesopelagic fishes are not just limited to the fishes but have much larger repercussions. For one, these fishes are fed upon by some of the oceans top predators such as sharks, tuna, salmon etc. thus having the plastic contamination move up the food chain. Reports of larger marine animals fatally suffering plastic ingestion are becoming quite common. Recently, 29 kilos of plastic was found inside the tummy of a sperm whale that washed ashore in Spain. With all the seafood that people around the world love to consume, it is not hard to imagine how then the plastic particles make into the human system.

How Does Microplastic Concern You?

Another major threat to the ecosystem is the transfer of plastic pollution to the ocean floor, through the mesopelagic fishes that feed near the water surface during night time and later excrete on the seabed in the daytime when they swim back down. Scientists have already confirmed the presence of micro-plastic in deep-sea organisms.

Although the team that conducted this latest study, have not yet examined the harm caused to the fishes by the microplastic in their system, Wieczorek suspects the plastic contamination, apart from the poisoning through the toxic chemicals that it leaks, could impair their feeding impulse causing weight loss. And since we already know that plastic pollution moves up the food chain and into our system, its the adverse effects of human health is a matter of extreme concern.

University of Toronto’s scientist, Chelsea Rochman, had conducted similar studies in the past. In these, she too found the presence of micro-plastic in different marine animals including fishes from the South Pacific gyre and even among many types of fishes and bivalves such as oysters, mussels etc. commonly sold as food, in California and Indonesia. Chelsea also pointed out the importance of investigating, where and how precisely the micro-plastic enters the system of these marine animals.

None of this should come as a surprise, considering the amount of plastic we dump into the oceans every year. In case you don’t know the magnitude of the situation, read this – An era of plastic overkill. People around the world are the primary source of these microscopic plastic particles polluting our oceans, which eventually make it back into our biological system.  It is obvious then that the change must begin with us by significantly reducing or even putting a complete stop to unnecessary plastic consumption. Start with yourself, and then help spread awareness by sharing articles such as these. If you’ve already made specific lifestyle changes to reduce plastic consumption, let others know through your comment below so that they may get motivated to do the same.