Emails
In my autoethnographic work, I usually don't talk about carbon footprint specifically. I prefer to contemplate deep transformations instead, because beyond contributing to carbon emissions, there are many other ways in which we contribute to ecological and social degradation. Having said that, I still want to have a small carbon footprint. Sending, receiving and storing emails - all of these have a carbon footprint. I couldn't find any excellent data on environmental costs of these action, but here, for example, is an old article (in The Guardian) that covers this topic. One might ask why I care about emails at all if I don't have excellent data that would empower me to reconsider my relationships with emails. Others might question the importance of paying attention to such small things. Avoiding flying and driving, and eating plant-based food would probably result in a more significant contribution. I do avoid flying, I don't drive and eat mostly plant-based already. I care about my relationship with emails not only because of their carbon footprint, but also for my personal wellbeing. In this entry I want to say more about my practice in relation to emails.
I have two accounts, one personal and one university account. There are around 13 emails in my university inbox. My personal inbox one can see above. There are 4 emails (there is nothing in the Other folder). I believe that deleted emails are stored for some time too by providers and universities. Here in Denmark, authorities don't send emails or letters. They communicate with residents via digital post, so all the important emails that I would have stored in my personal Inbox are not there. I get notifications about new emails in the digital post via email, but I delete them immediately. I've developed a habit to address important letters as soon as possible.
University mails:
Like other academics, I receive emails relatively often. Many of those emails are from the system of the journal where I serve as an associate editor. I delete such emails as soon as I receive them and simply check the system regularly. I usually immediately delete, and never store, emails that cover university news. Some might be critical of this practice, but too often such emails read more like marketing material than relevant news. Academics often receive spam emails. I report and delete them. Generally, every time I receive an email, I try to address or answer it as soon as possible (especially when students and my autoethnography readers reach out). Alternatively, I delete it if it doesn't require a response, or if I know that correspondence will not be nurturing for me or the sender. For example, once I was invited to contribute an academic piece by a fellow human who claimed to know my work well. After I sent a draft to them, they mentioned that my work did not align with their own conceptions. I decided to avoid engaging in further conversations, as most likely it would not be a nurturing exchange: there are so many other spaces where I can spend my energy. Over many years at universities, I've never regretted deleting emails. There have been several occasions where I felt that an email needed to be kept. One such situation was a case of plagiarism. At times, I receive an email that I want to respond to, but if I know that I will be seeing the sender soon enough, I will not respond via email. For example, my partner and I work together. Usually I don't respond to his emails, as I see him in person every day. I try to set up quick meetings with fellow humans (in person or online) instead of writing emails if I feel that it will be better (this obviously does not apply to situations of, say, harassment and other bad behaviour - it is always best to have emails as evidence).
Personal emails:
At times, my fellow humans ask me how many personal items I live with, as an extreme minimalist. It's less than 50, but I usually avoid counting my possessions and presenting some number to my fellow humans. This is because I do not believe that there is an ideal number, and the number of items I live with is certainly not in any way perfect or a benchmark for anyone (even myself). Moreover, this number fluctuates. Yet, when it comes to emails, ideally I want to keep no more than 10 emails in my inbox. In fact, 0 would be even better. Currently, there are four emails: one came from Swedish railways (SJ), one is a receipt from a local wine shop (where I bought a gift for my partner), one is from an academic journal, and the last one is from a museum here in Copenhagen (the attachment contains the tickets I bought). If one looks at the dates, it is obvious that these emails are recent. I don't keep old emails.
Above, I said that all the important electronic letters are sent by the Danish authorities via digital post. When an email comes from, say, Swedish authorities (I used to live in Sweden), I try to address it immediately and avoid keeping it. I do write down case numbers though if I know that I will need them.
I avoid subscribing to any marketing communications, so I don't get such emails. The only ones that I do get come from our local train companies. I get them rarely though, and delete them immediately if I know I will not use their current offers.
I buy online, but I do so very, very rarely. I don't keep electronic receipts. I will delete the receipts that are in my inbox currently after my partner redeems his gift card and after we have visited the museum.
At times, I get electronic receipts when I buy something in a physical store. But I buy new things so rarely that I haven't even got any such receipts currently.
10-15 years ago I received some emails from fellow humans that I did not find nurturing, loving or caring. I block such communications immediately and do not engage in them. I strongly believe in gentle communication that serves both the sender and the receiver. If this is not the case, I step away from it. I don't encourage my family members and friends to communicate with me via email. I prefer to talk to them in person.
It goes without saying that safety is incredibly important, so I avoid sending and receiving my or others' private information via email. I educate myself about safety and security. If I feel that I don't understand something (e.g., a particular kind of scam), I will ask an IT engineer to help me understand it. I avoid communicating with hospitals and other institutions via email: such institutions often have internal messaging systems.
I don't keep emails that are related to situations that I want to free myself from. For example, if it's a rejection letter, I will read it but not keep it.
I avoid responding unnecessarily. For example, after I left my previous university as an act of protest against harassment, I received an email from HR. They made an error and asked me to transfer a couple of hundreds euros to them. I reached out to the university department that deals with these issues specifically and resolved the situation with them instead of engaging in conversations with the department's own HR (they were incredibly unhelpful when I called out my manager's bad behaviour). Having said that, when there is a positive experience, I make sure that I reach out to fellow humans with gratitude and appreciation. In the past few years, I've moved several times, and have had many conversations with Swedish and Finnish authorities. Very often, fellow humans working for various government agencies have been helpful and extremely kind. While they were doing their jobs, I felt that they were doing them with much love and humanness. I would then respond to their emails to acknowledge that.