Google's Carbon Footprint

Something to consider before the next time you go digging online for trivia: A Harvard University physicist has calculated that two Google searches uses up the same amount of energy as boiling a cup of water. According to Alex Wissner-Gross, a single Google search emits about two grams of carbon dioxide, while using a webpage emits about .02 grams per second (and a webpage with video emits about .2 grams per second). Google is secretive about its carbon footprint, and doesn't even disclose the locations of its data centers, but a recent report by industry analysts suggests that IT has the same carbon footprint as the airline industries. Part of the reason for Google's large footprint is that it sends searches to several competing servers, rather than to just one.