by Andrew Miller
15. January 2009 09:20
Performing two Google searches produces the same amount of CO2 as boiling a kettle, according to the Times Online article 'Revealed: The environmental impact of Google searches'. It's funny how we never really consider the carbon footprint of the web... I can actually remember an occasion when I wanted to find out exactly how much value there was in the advise of boiling water in a pan rather than in your kettle when making a cup of tea. So I went online and googled it. The irony...
And if you think that's a shocking statistic, the article goes on to reveal:
"Nicholas Carr, author of The Big Switch, Rewiring the World, has calculated
that maintaining a character (known as an avatar) in the Second Life virtual
reality game, requires 1,752 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. That is
almost as much used by the average Brazilian."
It seems shocking comparisons like these keep coming up. But to what extent can we really make sense of all this? In real terms how can we possible start to take these facts into account when going about our daily lives? Whenever I come across these statistics I'm reminded of the huge controversy stirred up by Chris Goodall in an interview when talking about his book How to Live a Low-Carbon Life.
He made the point that, considering the high-carbon diets in western countries, specifically relating to our consumption of meat, you actually generate more carbon walking to the supermarket than if you drove, taking into account the amount of food you would need to replace the calories burned off by the excersise. You can read about this on the Times Online in the article 'Walking to shops damages planet more than going by car'.
I hate to think what will be next...
