At RESET, we like to find possible solutions for current problems in the digital world. Sometimes solutions can start with making small changes to our everyday lives. This article, written with support of @umweltstiftung.bsky.social, is one of our ACT NOW articles ⬇️

Reduce Data Consumption, Boost Climate Protection: How Sustainable Streaming Works

The films, series and music we stream account for the lion's share of digital emissions—so we're sharing our tips for sustainable streaming.

en.reset.org

⛓️‍💥Is it time to break free from big tech monopolies? We think so, and so does Andy Davis from Wholegrain Digital, who told us just how you can finally leave tech giants like Google, and take back control and autonomy of your online activities and data.

Interview: How to Break Free From Google’s Browser Monopoly

Reading on Google Chrome? This interview might make you change your browser. Here's how sustainable alternatives can fight Google's monopoly.

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New RESET newsletter is up! Read it to find out 👇 🔮 What will the climate of my city be like in 60 years? 🗺️ Finding shade with this route-finding application 🌾 How AI is supporting Nepal’s farmers 🌳 We should look at forests to improve our cities

What's the weather in your city going to look like in 60 years?

Probably hot. But these digital tools could assist us in keeping safe in the face of increasingly extreme weather events.

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Lets talk about #AI, It’s embedded into pretty much all software, apps and everywhere else we don’t need it. Luckily there’s open-source software that allows us to finally ‘opt-out’ of AI features for good. Ready to get started? First step, read this article 👇

How To Avoid AI Features: Open-Source Software Lets You Escape the ‘Walled Garden'

Carbon-hungry AI is everywhere. We explain how to avoid AI features and why open-source software and decentralised networks can help.

en.reset.org

But the #coal consumption must decrease.

Blair Palese@blairpalese.bsky.social · 3d ago

Today's great news..." #Solar is poised to overtake #coal as China’s largest source of installed power capacity this year, as Beijing steps up its green transition with a renewed emphasis on efficiency, quality and orderly growth over sheer scale." www.scmp.com/economy/chin...

Removing #AI features, swapping #bigtech for alternatives and reducing your overall #dataconsumption can make a big difference when it comes to #digitalsustainability. Keep an eye on this page for RESET articles on how you can make small adjustments to your tech use. @umweltstiftung.bsky.social

We recently spoke with Geraldine de Bastion, Founder of the #GlobalInnovationGathering about their work that aims to facilitate a more circular society by educating people in #upcycling, clothing repair and textile skills 👇

“Bringing Together Neighbourhoods”: make-a-thek Forms Communities by Teaching Upcycling Skills

Participants in make-a-thek workshops learn how to repair old clothes instead of throwing them away, promoting a more circular society.

en.reset.org

Let’s be real, the current forecast look bleak: our information technology could account for around 50% of global electricity consumption over the next 10 to 20 years. One possible solution? ➡️ Green coding. We wrote about how it works, and how you can work with it👇

Energy-Efficient Software and Web-Friendly Websites: How Green Coding Works

If the internet were a country in its own right, it would rank sixth in the global CO₂ emissions rankings. Under the banner of ‘Green Coding’, we’ve put together some ways you use the internet more resource efficiently.

en.reset.org

If you haven’t read into this yet, this is your sign 🪧 to start understanding how digital clouds work, and why its important to consider switching to open source cloud storage like @nextcloud.bsky.social 🙌☁️⬇️ Supported by @umweltstiftung.bsky.social

Green Cloud Without Big Data: How to Use Nextcloud & Why We Love It

Looking for a green and data-secure cloud? We spoke to Andreas Steinhauser from infra.run about how to get started with open-source provider Nextcloud.

en.reset.org

🤔What if the future of tech could be inspired by the past? We wrote about ‘Permacomputing’: taking the concept of permaculture (self-sufficient, energy-efficient and inherently wasteless) and applying it to computing. Here’s what we found out 👇

Permacomputing – How the Concept of Permaculture Is Being Adapted to the Digital World

The perpetual drive to create bigger, stronger, faster is destroying our planet. It's time we took a hard look at permacomputing principles.

en.reset.org

#Videostreaming accounts for the largest share of global internet #datatraffic at 60-70%. So, with the growing carbon footprint of digitalisation, it’s time to put the topic of “sustainable streaming” back on the agenda! ⬇️📺‼ Sponsored by @umweltstiftung.bsky.social

Green Streaming? We Need to Talk About Netflix, Prime and Co.

Even if AI is considered the new climate offender, streaming has not been replaced. We took a look at the high CO2 emissions from streaming, where companies stand and what users can do.

en.reset.org

How can we decide which #sustainable services actually shape a greener future? Our articles could be the answer. We only report on innovations that are make the #tech industry greener and fairer for everyone 👇 Supported by @umweltstiftung.bsky.social

Green IT: Transforming Hardware to Make It More Sustainable

Hardware has a significant negative carbon footprint. Many computer manufacturers therefore use recycled materials in the production of their notebooks, PCs and tablets. But is green IT really that simple? We summarise our findings after numerous interviews and experiences.

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How does citizen science work in practice? 🌍 Find out in @reset.org new feature on our project "Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!" Students collect data on plastic pollution, contributing directly to scientific research 👇

RESET - Digital for Good🌎♻️☀️@reset.org · 2w ago

All participating partner countries of #PlasticPirates agreed on a standardised methodology for #data collection. This ensures that the data remains comparable. It’s possible to analyse it not only at a national level but also at a #European level 👇

Could refurbishment be the answer to building #sustainable data centres? We spoke to Techbuyer who has made it its mission to #refurbish server #hardware, and this is how they plan to do it ⬇️ Supported by @umweltstiftung.bsky.social

Greener Data Centres Thanks to Refurbishment? We Asked Techbuyer

The demand for computing capacity is increasing worldwide whilst reports of the environmental impact of data centres grow. Techbuyer aims to counter this with refurbished servers.

en.reset.org

When we speak about "using #AI for good" this is what we mean👇

Open-Source AI OrcaHello Listens to Whales to Protect Them Better

If we know where whales are, we can take targeted protective measures, such as diverting ships and reducing sources of noise. OrcaHello helps to track the animals.

en.reset.org

As part of our @DBU sponsored Green Digital Futures project, we’ve selected RESET articles on: 💻 Green IT, 👩‍💻 Software & 🌿 Coding that will help you understand, as well as be able to navigate the digital world a little more sustainably. We’ll be posting on Bsky this week 👀 stay tuned!

All participating partner countries of #PlasticPirates agreed on a standardised methodology for #data collection. This ensures that the data remains comparable. It’s possible to analyse it not only at a national level but also at a #European level 👇

en.reset.org

Citizen Science to Tackle Plastic Waste: Children and Young People Explore Europe’s Rivers as ‘Plastic Pirates’

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🥵 How do we find sun-protected routes on during the next #heatwave ? 📍What about an app that navigates people through the city along shady paths? @heigit.org applied this approach to other cities and aims to encourage further #climateadaptation measures 👇

Shady Routes in Times of Climate Crisis: How a Routing App Protects Against Heat Stress

In Heidelberg and Worms, the shaded.ors app is already helping people navigate the shade. However, HeiGIT’s routing application can also be adapted for use in other cities – and has the potential to become an important tool for climate adaptation.

en.reset.org

As part of our #GreenDigitalFutures project for @umweltstiftung.bsky.social we took a deep dive into AI’s entire life cycle, to find out how we can live in a future where #AI is sustainable. Sounds crazy right? Have a read for yourself 👇

Looking at the Entire Life Cycle: Tips for Sustainable AI Development and Use

AI users and developers can influence AI sustainability. We present the essential steps to creating a sustainable AI model.

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When it comes to GenAI, people tend to either use it for everything, or completely #boycott it. But do we know when it actually makes sense to use it? We spoke to Stefan Kaufmann from @wikimediade.bsky.social about how to use #GenAI efficiently ⬇️

When Is GenAI Actually Useful? Stefan Kaufmann Shares His Toolbox for Using AI in Administration

Stefan Kaufmann from Wikimedia Germany reveals the limitations of GenAI and shares his toolbox for figuring out when it's worth using it.

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To most the rapid advancement of #AI appears to function magically. We’re here to burst that bubble: Aside from the planet’s resources, GenAI is powered by #humanlabour. It is, in fact, not magic, but workers predominantly from the #GlobalSouth who power this technology.

“Magic” AI Is Exploiting Data Labour in the Global South – But Resistance Is Happening

Data labour powering generative AI are paid shockingly low wages, making them particularly attractive to AI service providers who seek to maximise profit. But, there's hope.

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Last week we posted featured RESET articles on #datacentres, and how the explosion of #AI is making them work overtime, rising pollution levels and draining water resources. We wanted to know: If and how can we make AI more sustainable? This is what we found out 👇

Sustainable AI Means Looking Beyond Data Centres

The massive impact of AI on people and the environment is just the tip of the iceberg. True AI sustainability requires a life-cycle approach focused on the common good.

en.reset.org

New RESET article about how #AI in wildlife conservation is growing 👇 #openai #aiforgood en.reset.org/open-source-...

Open-Source AI OrcaHello Listens to Whales to Protect Them Better

If we know where whales are, we can take targeted protective measures, such as diverting ships and reducing sources of noise. OrcaHello helps to track the animals.

en.reset.org

AI has become part of daily life, we’ve heard its bad for the planet, but how many of us really know how damaging it is, & if that can change for the good? We’ve selected RESET articles on #AI & #GenAI, that will help you better understand whats going on, & what can be done instead.

Think #DataCenters can't be sustainable? Think again. @infomaniak.bsky.social builds sustainability into every step of its operations. RESET talked to CMO @thomas-ja.bsky.social about running a data centre responsibly, and how we can all shrink our digital footprint 👣👇

“A Matter of Vision and Planning”: How Infomaniak Sets the Standard for Waste Heat Re-Use in Data Centres

Data centres require huge amounts of energy—but reusing their waste heat to warm our homes is a massive opportunity. Infomaniak shows us how it's done.

en.reset.org

Google DeepMind is calling for the moral behavior of large language models—such as what they do when called on to act as companions, therapists, medical advisors, and so on—to be scrutinized with the same kind of rigor as their ability to code or do math.

Google DeepMind wants to know if chatbots are just virtue signaling

We need to better understand how LLMs address moral questions if we're to trust them with more important tasks.

trib.al

We just posted a new article about EU-funded AURORA initiative that spans five countries and brings together nine universities and institutions 👇

Becoming a ‘Net Zero Citizen’ With the AURORA App

With the AURORA app, citizens can track their carbon footprint and invest in solar panel installation to reduce their emissions even further.

en.reset.org

Innovation mit Impact: Die Greentech-Branche beweist es mit ihrer Erfolgsgeschichte. Denn mit innovativem Umweltschutz lässt sich Geld verdienen. Im DBU Hauptstadtimpuls haben wir diese Erfolgsgeschichten einiger #DBUprojekte vorgestellt. Aufzeichnung 👉 www.dbu.de/newsletter/d...

no. more. data centres.

More Perfect Union@moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 4w ago

Meta’s AI data-center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been caught infecting the town’s water supply with deadly bacteria. Officials say wastewater from Meta’s AI data-center flooded the town’s pipes with the bacterium Cupriavidus gilardii, and they found the company violated industrial waste regulations.

The CSO has released data on metered electricity consumption for 2025. The extraordinary headline figures: - Electricity consumption from data centres grew by nearly 10% last year, and now accounts for 23% of Ireland's electricity demand.