Interesting to see e-activities described in CO2, and to note that the benefits of 'paperless' transactions have balancing costs.
Performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea, according to new research.
While millions of people tap into Google without considering the environment, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 Boiling a kettle generates about 15g. “Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power,” said Alex Wissner-Gross, a Harvard University physicist whose research on the environmental impact of computing is due out soon. “A Google search has a definite environmental impact.”
As mentioned later in the article, what the IT burn is displacing is key. My view is that through entertainment and social networking we are increasing the carbon footprint of our personal lives.
If your internet use is in place of more energy-intensive activities, such as
driving your car to the shops, that’s good. But if it is adding activities
and energy consumption that would not otherwise happen, that may pose
problems.
Newcombe cites Second Life and Twitter, a rapidly growing website whose 3m
users post millions of messages a month. Last week Stephen Fry, the TV
presenter, was posting “tweets” from New Zealand, imparting such vital
information as “Arrived in Queenstown. Hurrah. Full of bungy jumping and
‘activewear’ shops”, and “Honestly. NZ weather makes UK look stable and
clement”.
iBiome 