We all Google don’t we? If you use a computer as part of your job it’s generally how you find information quickly and is now even considered such a part of our language that it’s become a verb.
GOOGLE (verb) – The verb to google (also spelled to Google) refers to using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web.
I’m sure a lot of us lose count of the amount of Google searches we do each day but next time you go to type in those six immortal letters into your web browser you may want to consider that a few of those Google searches can generate about the same amount of CO2 as boiling a kettle for your daily brew!
We love a brew in the studio, sometimes we even survive solely on the stuff while burning the midnight oil thinking of concepts or preparing presentations, so it’s a sobering thought about what an impact all of the things we do during our normal working day have on the world around us.
Emissions are caused by the electricity required to power our computers and for our computers to send their requests around the world. The more serious side to this of course is the little known environmental impact of computer and internet use. With more than 200 million internet searches estimated daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the internet are provoking concern. Would you be surprised to know that it contributes to a greater global carbon footprint than the whole of the aviation industry?
Alex Wissner-Gross (www.CO2Stats.com), the physicist leading this research believes that while Google is efficient, they do have a definite impact on the environment. Google claim this is exaggerated and they are at the forefront of green computing and have responded in this article.
One alternative created by Heap Media is to search using Blackle – essentially a version of Google that’s predominantly black, which given that some monitors require more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen saves energy.
All this is very interesting. We embrace new technology here at VGROUP, working with computers and being involved in new media is our livelihood and something that’s not going to change, but it’s always good to look at the bigger picture and make positive changes where we can.
On the flip side The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs say: “If everyone boiled only the water they needed instead of ‘filling’ the kettle every time, we could save enough electricity to run practically all the street lighting in the U.K.”
Now that’s a thought…. cuppa anyone?
very good article. interesting about the ‘blackle’ search site!
did you know… the falkirk wheel uses the same amount of energy in one half turn as it takes to boil one kettle.