The world has its share of smart guys. They're always around, occupying the back rows of all concerts, waiting to burst all our bubbles just when we decide we like something. When I realised I liked tea, a friend conveniently mentioned how an uncle of his died of a nicotine overdose, supposedly due to the 30 cups of tea he consumed daily. I ignored him.
Can't eat fish because they're being over-harvested. Smoking kills, and so does alcohol. Sex? Nah. That's a bad word, so let's not go there, at least not while we're still in India.
So anyway, just when we decided that the Internet was a safe way of going about our business (to each his own), along comes Emmett Brown.
Not a man; a band from Florida. Apparently, they sound like Nirvana (and who doesn't, I might add, in our post-grunge world of rock?) and believe in logging off the Internet to save the environment. This is not some ridiculous attempt at selling CDs -- oh no, perish the thought -- but an actual movement that the band has kickstarted, called Save Cyberspace.
Their mission: To convince the world's many people to log off for an hour at noon on CyberDay (Monday, April 23), to reduce the toll on the planet of the energy consumed by Internet server farms. Did it happen, you ask? Do I really need to answer that question?
To get back to Emmett Brown though, if there's one thing to be said about them, it's their passion for their cause. Why else would anyone actually record and release a track called 'The Bandwidth Conservation Society'?
Touted as CyberDay's official anthem and the world's first 'Cyber Friendly' MP3 -- whatever that means -- the song has been described as a 'quick, upbeat number that hearkens back to a Beatles-era vibe and social consciousness.' Gimme a break.
The experts at Save Cyberspace maintain that whenever you, or I, visit a Web site, chat, download, or simply surf the Internet, we're actually contributing to our planet's most serious environmental crisis, global warming. They add that with usage growing by the day, Internet congestion is on the increase, precious bandwidth resources are being used up, and real environmental hazards may be unleashed.
Now, to be honest, they may have a point. Who are we to judge? It's the way they raise the issue that calls for comment. I mean, hey, linking Internet power consumption to California's electricity supply problems is hardly the way to go about it, is it?
This, according to the same experts, is how it all happens. Usage of the Internet happens via servers that run on real power to feed information to the public. Most of this power is generated by burning fossil fuels which, in turn, pump green house gases into the atmosphere. Then, it's global warming.
All members of Emmett Brown reiterate the need to save cyberspace, which they call 'one of nature's most precious man made resources.' They all believe in a cyberspace crisis waiting to happen, and talk about saving it 'for the children.'
In fact, they are so concerned that even 'The Bandwidth Conservation Society' is under two-and-a-half minutes long so that it doesn't take up much bandwidth. Conveniently, the band is touted as CyberDay's official band, while the single has been chosen as the 'official song' of CyberDay 1.0 by Save CyberSpace.
Other sections at the site let you learn more about the Cyber Crisis, and tell you what you can do to conserve it. There are lots of links to related articles like, for example, how spam costs Internet millions every month, how server farms sap energy resources, and why more and more firms are developing products with bandwidth-saving features.
Elsewhere on the Internet are tips for conserving bandwidth, sites that want to save the Internet by fighting or stopping spam, and even Save the Web (http://www.savetheweb.org/), a movement to save 'Europe's Internet' set up by a group of individuals determined to preserve and develop the Internet as a medium for unrestricted personal communication and interaction.
Me? I still have fifteen cups of tea a day. Sue me.
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