@techreport{knodel-beyond-carbon-01, number = {draft-knodel-beyond-carbon-01}, type = {Internet-Draft}, institution = {Internet Engineering Task Force}, publisher = {Internet Engineering Task Force}, note = {Work in Progress}, url = {https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-knodel-beyond-carbon/01/}, author = {Mallory Knodel and Chris Adams and Michelle Thorne}, title = {{Impacts of the Internet on the Environment, Beyond Carbon}}, pagetotal = 14, year = 2026, month = jul, day = 6, abstract = {The global internet is comprised of vast interconnected networks spanning nearly every surface of planet and sky that, together with user devices, consumes energy and emits greenhouse gases. The true scale and proposed mitigations of the carbon footprint of the internet are the subject of important research. The internet also requires the depletion of other natural resources beyond carbon, namely land, water, electromagnetic spectrum and minerals. Electronic waste contributes in particularly acute ways to environmental pollution. This document surveys the impacts of the internet on the environment and includes, but goes beyond, energy use and carbon footprint to look at the consumption of natural resources and environmental waste.}, }