In 1973 the Queen of England sent one of the first ever emails via ARPANET, and in 1976 students of Imperial College London were some of the first people to test the internet out. It wasn’t until the late 80s and early 90s that the public had use of the World Wide Web and a new level of connectivity was born.
Whole masters and doctorates, individuals and communities of professionals spend their lives with, on and studying the internet. In terms of my course, it’s key sustainability impact must surely be the amount of resources it saves. For example, in viewing videos or PDFs online, saves a terrific amount of tape and paper. In terms of post-humanism, it has allowed us to see around the world at near light speed. If gives us the potential to contact the vast majority of our planet’s co-inhabitants. As a revelation, it is comparable to the impact fire made on our ancestors. As a revolution, we now take it for granted.