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New Tool Reveals Hidden Environmental Cost of Internet Use
Scientists have developed a tool that shows how everyday internet activity impacts nature, revealing surprising environmental costs behind routine website visits. The internet is responsible for 3.7 percent of global carbon emissions, surpassing air travel. If the internet were a country, it would rank as the fourth-largest polluter in the world.
The tool, called Digital Impact for Species, was created by climate experts at the University of Exeter in partnership with Madeby.studio. It allows users to enter any website URL and see its hidden environmental footprint, including CO2 emissions, energy use, and water consumption.
“When we visit a website, we rarely think about the environmental impact,” said Dr. Marcos Oliveira Jr, project lead for Exeter’s nature and climate impact team. “But there is a high cost, from the energy consumed as the information travels from the data centre to your device, to the water used to cool servers.”
The tool translates environmental metrics into relatable natural comparisons. For example, YouTube.com, which processes billions of searches each month, is rated C, indicating room for improvement. Each page view generates 0.249 grams of CO2, consumes 0.0011 litres of water, and uses 0.62 watt-hours of energy. For every 9,000 monthly visits, the site requires 10 litres of water—enough to sustain a capuchin monkey for 77 days. CO2 emissions from that traffic would take a single Amazon rainforest tree 41 days to absorb, while the energy used is equivalent to 1,000 Anna’s hummingbirds’ daily energy consumption for 332 days.
The tool calculates these impacts using Google PageSpeed Insights to measure the size of resources loaded on a page, such as images, text, and video. It also checks whether the site is hosted on servers powered by renewable energy or fossil fuels, and applies the Sustainable Web Design Model to convert technical data into ecological terms.
Researchers said the tool is intended to raise awareness rather than criticize specific websites. Dr. Oliveira Jr explained that it encourages discussion on how to create a more sustainable internet.
Experts suggest that website operators can reduce environmental impacts by simplifying pages, using fewer images, limiting fonts, avoiding unnecessary videos, and optimizing code. Hosting sites on renewable-energy servers also lowers the ecological footprint.
Consumers can contribute by minimizing unnecessary searches, but the responsibility largely lies with website hosts and developers. By making these changes, experts say it is possible to lower the internet’s environmental impact while maintaining accessibility and usability.
Digital Impact for Species is available online, offering a way for users to better understand the hidden cost of their digital habits and prompting both individuals and organizations to consider sustainability in online activity.
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EU Proposes Carbon Charges for More International Flights Under ETS Overhaul
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Iran Claims Strikes on US Bases as Hormuz Tensions Escalate
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said early Wednesday it had launched attacks against US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, marking another escalation in the conflict as the United States continued military operations against Iran and renewed restrictions on Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC said it targeted the US Fifth Fleet’s command-and-control facilities, logistical centres, petroleum installations and military equipment in Bahrain, along with a US base in Kuwait. Iranian state media described the strikes as retaliation for recent American military operations and efforts to control maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement carried by local media, the IRGC warned that if Washington continued trying to restrict regional oil and gas exports by controlling key shipping routes, Iran would seek to disrupt other energy corridors serving US and allied interests. The statement declared that regional energy exports would be “for everyone or for no one,” although it did not specify which routes could be targeted.
Missile warning systems were activated in Bahrain and Kuwait as Iranian projectiles approached. Jordanian authorities said their air defence systems intercepted three incoming Iranian missiles, while Kuwait’s military reported repelling Iranian drone attacks. Iran also claimed it had targeted US military facilities at Jordan’s Azraq Air Base for a second time.
US Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, confirmed that Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones toward neighbouring Gulf countries.
The latest exchange came after the US military carried out a fourth consecutive night of operations against Iranian targets. According to US Central Command, fighter aircraft, drones and naval vessels conducted a seven-hour mission targeting Iranian missile and drone sites, naval assets and coastal defence systems.
CENTCOM said the strikes were intended to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian vessels operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas trade.
President Donald Trump also renewed warnings that the United States could expand its campaign if diplomatic efforts fail. In a televised interview with Fox News on Tuesday night, Trump said Washington would eventually target Iran’s energy infrastructure unless Tehran agreed to return to negotiations.
“We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re gonna knock out their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate,” Trump said, adding that energy facilities remained potential targets.
The latest hostilities have cast further doubt over a temporary agreement reached in June after the United States lifted an earlier blockade of Iranian shipping to allow negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Talks have since stalled as military confrontations around the Strait of Hormuz intensified, raising concerns about regional security and the stability of global energy supplies.
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Cuba Suffers Third Nationwide Blackout in Two Weeks as Fuel Shortages Deepen Energy Crisis
Cuba was plunged into another nationwide power outage on Tuesday after a failure at a generating unit triggered the collapse of the National Electric System (SEN), marking the third island-wide blackout in less than two weeks as the country struggles with worsening fuel shortages and an ongoing economic crisis.
State-owned Electric Union said the outage began around midday after a malfunction at a power plant in the eastern province of Holguín caused a sudden change in grid frequency, forcing the national electricity network offline.
Officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines said emergency restoration procedures were activated immediately. The process involves creating isolated “micro-islands” of electricity before reconnecting them to rebuild the national grid. Priority has been given to hospitals, food processing facilities and other essential services.
By Tuesday afternoon, electricity had been restored to parts of Havana, with authorities reporting that about 4 percent of the capital had regained power. Provincial officials in Guantánamo, Cienfuegos and Matanzas also confirmed that electricity had returned to hospitals and selected urban areas, including Matanzas’ historic city centre.
The latest outage follows nationwide blackouts last Monday and Friday that left more than 9 million people without electricity. Cuba also experienced two major nationwide outages in March, along with several regional disruptions during the year.
The repeated failures have disrupted daily life across the island. Public transportation has been severely affected, work schedules have been shortened, flights have faced cancellations and hospitals have struggled to maintain normal operations. Residents have also experienced interruptions to cooking, water supplies, internet access and telephone services.
Fuel shortages have intensified since January, when US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries supplying or selling oil to Cuba. The measures have added pressure to an economy already facing years of financial hardship.
Cuba currently produces only about 40 percent of the fuel it requires, leaving it heavily dependent on imports. Officials have acknowledged that no immediate solution has emerged to secure additional fuel supplies, leaving the country’s ageing electricity infrastructure under continued strain.
Washington’s energy restrictions followed the capture of Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro and expanded existing sanctions already affecting Cuba’s economy. Authorities say the latest measures have compounded challenges created by previous sanctions and domestic economic reforms, including monetary unification.
The situation has also drawn political attention in the United States. Four Democratic members of Congress who visited Cuba over the weekend described the energy embargo imposed by the Trump administration as turning the island into a “silent Gaza,” highlighting the humanitarian impact of prolonged power shortages.
With fuel supplies remaining scarce and no immediate relief in sight, Cuba’s electricity system continues to face significant pressure, raising concerns that further nationwide outages could occur in the weeks ahead.
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