Searching The Internet The Environmentally Friendly Way
by Editor, Web Wise Business (20 January 2009)
The press recently reported that every two searches conducted on Google uses the same amount of energy required to boil a full kettle of water, the equivalent of 7g of CO2 per search. With an estimate of more than 200 million internet searches conducted worldwide on a daily basis , the electrical consumption and greenhouse gas emissions produced by computers and the internet is a growing concern for environmentalists. Particularly with Global Warming a frequently recurring topic worldwide.
So how can you do your bit to save the world by cleaning up your internet emissions?Â
1. For searches, it has been recommended to try using
Blackle. Blackle is being pitched as an energy saving version of Google. The premise is, the background of Google is white, which requires more energy to render on a computer screen than a black background. Therefore, Blackle is saving the world one search at a time by requiring less energy to produce the same results. The only things Blackle lacks are local listings, YouTube videos in the results and skyscraper AdWords on the right hand side.Â
However, Google has claimed that inÂ
analysis they, and others, have conducted into the matter, it has been suggested that a black background may in fact require even more energy than a white background does. Particularly on LCD and flat panel monitors which are estimated to make up 75% of the market.
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Therefore, if the cost to the world of your internet usage weighs heavily on your mind, then doing your searching on Google could still be the most advisable way to help you sleep at night.
2. Bookmark links to content you access regularly. If you have a favourite website you check every day, why not bookmark it rather than adding to Google's carbon footprint?
3. Schedule numerous blog postings in one session. If you are one of the web's millions of bloggers, and like us, you research your posts by searching for relevant links and information, why not produce a week or two's worth of blog posts in one sitting. You will likely limit the total amount of searches you conduct as you are less likely to perform repeat searches, while at the same time reducing the total amount of time your computer needs to be on and running in a week.
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