Too much googling injurious to earth

Performing two Google searches can generate the same amount of harmful carbon dioxide as boiling an electric kettle for a cup of tea, says a research study.

According to Harvard University physicist Alex Wissner-Gross's new research, a typical search generates about seven grammes of CO2 whereas an electric kettle generates about 15 gm.

According to the survey, the emissions are caused both by the electricity required to power a user's computer and send the search request to multiple data centres used by Google in order to achieve fast results. Wissner-Gross believes Google searches produce more emissions than some of its search rivals because of this.

Though Google says it is in the forefront of green computing, its search engine generates high levels of CO2 because of the way it operates.

"With more than 200m Internet searches estimated globally daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the internet is provoking concern," the study said.
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