Search the web, destroy the planet

Apparently doing two Google searches produces half the amount of CO2 that boiling a kettle does ! At least that what has been recently claimed by the Telegraph in the UK.

Google has hit back, saying that, actually they are far more efficient then that. They claim:

a single search uses the same amount of energy as an adult body burns in 10 seconds (a very Matrix comparison)
a 1000 searches produces the same amount of CO2 as driving an average car 1km (which actually doesn’t sound that good)

Since Google claims to have some of the most energy efficient data centres in the world, one has to wonder what the planetary impact is of other search providers such as Yahoo and Microsoft.

I wonder if there is a marketing angle here for search providers: “We are the most eco-search engine so use us instead of them” :)

Of course at the end of the day using the Internet is far more efficient and eco-friendly the driving to the local library!

_[Update] Turns out the the paper got it all wrong and completely misquoted their “source”. Interestingly the guy they misquoted works for a company called C02Stats which helps you make your website carbon neutral._