When using Google's search site, you might notice this claim in the footer of the page:
"Carbon neutral since 2007"
What does that really mean? Here are some perspectives on the issue from Robert Bryce on Forbes.com:
I estimate that the company used about 12.4 terawatt-hours of juice in 2019.
Thus, by itself, Google uses more electricity than what’s consumed in more than 100 countries, including Sri Lanka and Zambia, and nearly as much as what’s used in places like Burma and the Dominican Republic. It also uses more juice than seven states - Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine - as well as the District of Columbia. Of those places, Maine (population 1.3 million) comes closest to Google’s hunger for electricity. (In 2018, Maine used about 12.3 terawatt-hours of electricity.)
Is it enough to be carbon neutral or carbon free? Not really.
All energy use contributes to warming of the planet. So to actually be "green", We the People must regulate EVERYONE'S usage, Google included. And the only fair standard is whether such usage contributes to the welfare of humanity. Is the ability to conduct web searches for trivial pursuits more important than energy used by a farmer to feed his family and the rest of us? I don't think so.
What do YOU think?
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