As the first carbon neutral neighbourhood in the Netherlands, Bospolder-Tussendijken is an outsider. But that does not mean that the residents are cut off from the outside world: they have a mobile phone and use the Internet. The difference is that the local communication network is not dependent on fossil fuels.
Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands. Collages by Golnar Abbasi & Arvand Pourabbasi.
How Much Energy Does the Internet Consume?
The Internet can no longer be ignored in our society. But can we continue to afford it? In 2020, the global energy consumption of the digital communications network was already more than 3,000 terawatt-hours, about 12% of the global electricity consumption. If we were to run the internet on human power, it would take more than 10 billion people, all working up a sweat 8 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The increasing energy consumption of the Internet is not caused by a growing number of users, but by a growing energy consumption per user -- data traffic is rising seven times faster than the number of Internet users. The first reason for this is the increasing use of portable computers and wireless Internet access, as a result of which we are more often online and therefore download more data.
A second reason is the ever-increasing "bit rate" of the consulted content. This is mainly due to digital television and video streaming, but the same trend can be seen in the evolution of websites, which are becoming "heavier". The internet started as a text medium, but images, music and video have become just as important. Downloading a video takes as much energy as downloading hundreds of photos, while downloading a photo takes as much energy as downloading thousands of pages of text.
Human Powered Internet
While the rest of the world is moving towards an increasingly unsustainable communication infrastructure, for example through the expansion of the 5G network, the residents of Bospolder-Tussendijken chose to develop a "lightweight" internet that is completely independent from fossil fuels. Because digital video and television take the largest bite out of data traffic -- followed by games and music -- they are taken off-line in the new infrastructure.
In addition, all local business websites have been slimmed down, partly due to the use of low-resolution photos and better web design. Websites that are not located nearby are viewed through a filter that makes downloading the pages much more economical.
The new infrastructure is based on WiFi, the same technology that enables a fast wireless connection at home or in the coffee bar. A standard WiFi signal distributes internet access in a circle and has a rather limited range of about 30 metres. However, if other types of antennas are used, a WiFi-signal can be bundled and directed over a much longer distance. With a network of WiFi-nodes, it then becomes possible to exchange data from one node to the next until it reaches its destination.
The energy consumption is only 30 watts per node in the network, which makes it possible to run the infrastructure entirely on human power. The infrastructure built by the residents has a much slower download speed than a fiber optic connection, but this is no problem because the content has become much lighter.
Digital Pigeon Post
Just because digital television, video, music, and software downloads have been taken offline doesn't mean they've disappeared. The neighbourhood set up a second network for these "heavier" digital files, which primarily runs on animal power: the digital pigeon mail. Movies, television programs, music, games and software upgrades are distributed via SD cards -- digital storage media that weigh only 1 gram. These storage media are put in small backpacks and taken to their destination by pigeons.
Already in Antiquity it was discovered that pigeons have an excellent navigation system. They always fly back to where they were raised and cared for, no matter how far and how long they have been away. Most ancient civilizations had extensive and tightly organized mail delivery systems based on pigeons. With a load of 1 gram, a well-trained carrier pigeon can maintain an average speed of about 50 kilometers per hour over a distance of 600 km. The pigeon post was the fastest communication medium until the advent of the electric telegraph.
The use of carrier pigeons sounds old-fashioned, but when larger digital files are sent, a pigeon is often faster than the Internet today. Suppose we want to send a file of 100 gigabytes from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, a distance of about 60 km as the crow flies. A fast fiber optic connection (100 Mbps) takes just over two hours. However, a carrier pigeon with an SD card (128 GB capacity) will get the job done in just over an hour, twice as fast, and for just a few grains of grain.
Bospolder-Tussendijken is a small neighbourhood: the maximum distance that can be covered is only 1.3 kilometers. As a result, the carrier pigeon is also faster than the internet for smaller files (from about 1 GB). Although the service is still expanding, the digital pigeon service in Bospolder-Tussendijken can already be called a success. So far, the neighbourhood has 129 nodes for sending and receiving large files. Residents request a file via the "normal" internet and then collect it from the nearest node.
Logistics
The digital pigeon service does not only run on animal power, but also on human power. A carrier pigeon flies in one direction only: home. The sender must therefore have access to the recipient's pigeons. This is only possible by setting up a logistics similar to that of shared bicycles: pigeons that have fulfilled their duty must be collected again. This activity is human powered, either on foot or on bicycle. Human power is also needed for the selection of the storage media and the training of the pigeons - which now number about 30,000.
In a new trend, some households have also installed their own dovecote. Furthermore, the residents have succeeded in including areas further away in their network. Pigeon post offices have already been installed in the center of Rotterdam, as well as in Amsterdam and Groningen. Intercity data traffic is currently limited, but the neighbourhood is convinced that the digital pigeon post will eventually become a national system.
Fertilization
The success of the digital pigeon mail is also associated with a number of problems. The Internet may be slower than the carrier pigeon, but it doesn't shit on your head. However, necessity was made a virtue. The pigeons are housed in large towers where their excrement can easily be collected. Pigeon droppings contain a high level of nitrogen and are one of the best (and most expensive) fertilizers you can find.
Historically, pigeon droppings were an important product, not only as a fertilizer but also for making gunpowder. In Bospolder-Tussendijken, composted pigeon droppings come in handy in the vegetable gardens, orchards and coppice forests of the district. The birds themselves also provide tasty meat and eggs.