The problem is, of course, tech. As explained in the article, websites have become more energy-hungry over time. This is partly explained by the rebound effect (Jevons paradox). More efficient hardware leads to faster page load times. Unfortunately, the result was heavier pages loading roughly as fast, or even slower, than old-school websites.
Unless facebook, AWS, google and Microsoft start encouraging more efficient webiste designs (static websites, limited library usage, no more 1MB fonts, etc.), the work done by the author is absolutely relevant. Limited hardware capacity has always been the most reliable way to limit energy usage.
Unless facebook, AWS, google and Microsoft start encouraging more efficient webiste designs (static websites, limited library usage, no more 1MB fonts, etc.), the work done by the author is absolutely relevant. Limited hardware capacity has always been the most reliable way to limit energy usage.