Google Searches and Carbon Footprints: How Much Energy are You Using?
Every second of every day, Google searches are answering people’s queries, whether those questions be who won the best actress award at the Golden Globes, or how much does and elephant weigh. Google serves up answers to those burning questions and more in moments, but how are those searches affecting the environment long term?
A recent study by a Harvard University physicist claims performing two Google searches are equivalent to boiling a kettle of water, which generates seven grams of carbon dioxide. Now this number may not seem like much, but when millions of people are making multiple searches daily, the amount quickly adds up.
“A Google search has a definite environmental impact,” claims Harvard physicist Alex Wissner-Gross, as quoted by CNET.
According to The Times of London, the IT industry accounts for 2% of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to the CO2 emissions the airline industry produces. According to industry experts, electricity and greenhouse gas are on the rise due to the increase use of computers on a daily basis.
Google denies the accuracy of the seven gram figure on their blog. Google disputes emissions come from their servers but say that emissions are from PC’s. Instead, they boast their efficiency. Google claims to be the forerunners of green IT and are on the board of the CSCI.
Google might be a contributor to global CO2 emissions, but it’s not going anywhere. So it’s up to computer users and Google to reduce greenhouse gasses and electricity usage. Perhaps computer users could walk to the library and look up their queries from a book instead. Ask yourself, “ Do I really have to Google?”
By meredithregan