This website aims to archive, reflect, and build momentum for Radical Ecology’s cultural programs while minimising the energy used to access our online content. Designed and developed by artist Iman Datoo, this two-year exploration combines her world-building and archival practice with research and training in low-carbon principles and static site development. The result is an infrastructure driven by encounter, aligning with the values of an organisation committed to expanding climate justice activities and deepening global networks of science, art, and activism.
In our research into low-carbon web design, we learned that if the internet were a nation, it would rank as the fourth-largest polluter (Source: Sustainable Web Manifesto) in the world. Additionally, the average size of a web page has doubled over the past 10 years (Source: HTTP Archive). As the internet becomes more efficient, our reliance on it grows, especially since there are no physical constraints to its energy use. High-resolution images, video streaming, and interactive applications no longer require individual devices to store extensive data; instead, this data is transmitted to and from data centres.
To reduce energy use, we implemented a static site where every page is pre-built once, rather than being generated dynamically with each visit. This eliminates the need for dedicated servers. We use system typefaces, which load fonts from the user’s operating system, removing the need for custom fonts. Additionally, we use an image compression technique called dithering throughout the website, which uses fewer colours and patterns of pixels to simulate gradients, resulting in smaller, more efficient image files.
Initially, implementing a low-carbon website seemed like it would require trade-offs or sacrifices, particularly as Radical Ecology expands its online presence. However, we discovered that lower-carbon sites are higher performing, and the aesthetics of low-carbon elements — such as default fonts and dithered imagery — are visually captivating and so have become a part of Radical Ecology’s identity both online and offline.
The intention for redeveloping the site was always community-centred. The goal was to build and sustain a resilient and dynamic infrastructure that could allow networks to organically emerge. It has been important to create multiple access routes to view the same content, so different audiences can find the work accessible through language familiar to them. We believe that it is from this familiarity that newness can start to emerge. A tagging system creates links between projects, ideas, and strands of work, so visitors can explore and be led to projects and ideas different from those they might experience in their day to day.
Moving forward, we are interested in different ways of quantifying the carbon cost and benefit of our work, and the challenges surrounding quantification. For example, data is incredibly subjective - we may be measuring the impact of the carbon load of our website, but linking a page to a video hosting platform is ‘offloading’ the carbon elsewhere. This isn’t a perfect system; it is an attempt at movement towards greater consciousness and a first start that is iterative and will continue to grow and develop.
This line of inquiry will remain a strand of active research in Radical Ecology, where we aim to grow our network of people who are interested in and/or have experience in low-carbon design, whether approaching this from a web designer, developer, artist, or organisational perspective. Please reach out. We’ll be exploring the bottlenecks that limit the implementation of low-carbon practices while using it as a space to share ideas.
For additional information about low-carbon websites, take a look at LowTechMagazine, Branch Magazine, and Lowwwcarbon.com, as well as the Green Web Library. These resources have greatly shaped our thinking and strategy for this project.
If you’d like to learn more about the project or join the webinars, please get in touch with Iman Datoo.