Dang, now even our online surfing is melting the glaciers. A recent study by Physicist Alex Wissner-Gross says that performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a pot of tea.
According to an article in Times Online, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2, while boiling a kettle generates about 15g. The reason: “Google operates huge data centers around the world that consume a great deal of power,” according to Alex Wissner-Gross, a Harvard University physicist. His report on the environmental impact of computing is due out soon.
Pictured above is Google’s Earth Day logo. Read Google’s response to the claim.
Learn more on how you can reduce the carbon footprint of the web.
What do you do to reduce your use of computer time, and hopefully your virtual carbon footprint?
