🌍 Some food for thought for those looking to make a real impact on our planet 🌱

With a global environmental crisis on the horizon and a growing sense of guilt for our role in polluting the Earth, is there something we, as developers, can do to contribute to positive change while improving our craft at the same time?

I found this Droidcon talk from AndroidMakers to be incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking on this topic.

Here are some key numbers from the talk:

• 💻 IT contributes 3-4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this figure is growing every year.
• 📱 66% of emissions occur at the user equipment level.
• 🔄 60%+ of devices are replaced within 2 years - true for both new and used phones.
• ⚠️ 30%+ of replacements happen because users feel their phones no longer perform well.

Let’s focus on that last point. Why do users feel their devices become obsolete so quickly?

There are many factors, but one that we, as developers, have direct influence over is the quality of the software we build. By becoming more skilled and mindful of how we use available resources, we can improve software performance, enhance user experience, and ultimately, help users feel like their devices stay “fresh” longer.

In other words, “Don’t be the app that makes users replace their phones!”

I highly recommend watching the full talk to gain more insights on this issue and discover practical steps we can take to build better apps while keeping sustainability in mind.