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Sustainable Recipe Corner:Vegan Pumpkin Smoothie
Author: Oria Aponte, ALANYC Vice President Why not start your day with this super easy and nutritious smoothie! It’s made with just a handful of ingredients and is done in less than 5 minutes. The ingredients are: Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined. Serve and sprinkle with a little cinnamon for flair. It makes a great drink for a fall brunch or a fall movie night. Enjoy!
What’s Hiding in Your Inbox and Cloud Storage
A very large footprint might be hiding in your inbox…I’m referring to carbon..and water. We often think of emails and cloud storage as something indistinct or intangible, even though it’s part of how we exist. Hardly an hour goes by before the urge or need to send an email or text, but each message sent carries a measurable environmental cost in the form of carbon emissions, energy, water, resource extraction and land loss. The cost of the email you sent earlier, it was the energy equivalent of running a 60-watt light bulb for 2-3 minutes. Now imagine leaving it on for an entire year. It’s estimated that the average office worker receives 121 emails a day. Over the course of the year, that adds up to 136 kg of CO2 for one person, just for email. Footprint of One Email: Footprint of Cloud Storage: These emissions might not seem like much, but when scaled globally, it is estimated that email traffic generates around 112 million metric tonnes of CO2 annually, which is more than the total emissions of some countries.. and we didn’t even include AI processes or messaging on social media platforms… or how long those emails are in the cloud. Cloud storage, though it invokes soft fluffy whiteness and blue skies, it is far from that. Storing 1GB in the cloud consumes .0078kWh per month equating to 40kg per TB annually. Additionally, the energy used in data centers, which store your cloud data contribute directly to this carbon footprint, as they heavily rely on electricity to power servers and cooling systems. Water usage is also intense to keep the data centers cool, with estimates of 1-2 liters of water per kWh. With billions of terabytes in the cloud, it is a significantly expanding global issue. Global data centers account for 1% of all global energy use and the demand is rising, projected to 3-8% by 2030. Factors that influence your email’s carbon and overall footprint 10 Tips to Reduce Your Email and Cloud Storage Footprint You don’t need to be tech-savvy to reduce your email and cloud footprint. Unsubscribe, delete, store less and send smarter. In a world of billions of messages, one small change makes more impact than you think. A lighter inbox can help the planet and your sanity will thank you!
Sustainability Spotlight: ALANYC Business Partners
Weeks Lerman and Vorgate are companies dedicated to promoting sustainability in law firms. Weeks Lerman offers eco-friendly products and recycling programs to reduce waste, while Vorgate provides a platform for implementing and tracking sustainability goals. Together, they support a shift towards greener practices, aiming for a significant environmental impact in the industry.