Google

[Steve_Barker]

Cup of tea or a Google?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7823387.stm

[mountainhiker]

Cup of tea or a Google?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7823387.stm

However, the bottom line Google isn't any worse than any other data centre operator

[Simon]

Interesting article Steve.

Have you guys checked out Dr Alex Wissner-Gross website and service?

http://www.co2stats.com

It seems interesting but Im not really sure what to think about it yet..

[brettbh]

It seems interesting but Im not really sure what to think about it yet..

I'm really not sold on carbon offseting.

However, the bottom line Google isn't any worse than any other data centre operator

Yup, but Google makes for a more interesting headline than AltaVista or Dogpile :-) Actually, Google have been involved in/supported some interesting projects:

http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/

[Steve_Barker]

However, the bottom line Google isn't any worse than any other data centre operator

Makes you think about the effects of your activity.

I try not to boil the kettle too often, and always use the correct amount of water. This time of year we do not use the kettle at all, but heat water on the wood burning stove. However, I Google profusely.

Interesting article Steve.

Have you guys checked out Dr Alex Wissner-Gross website and service?

http://www.co2stats.com

It seems interesting but Im not really sure what to think about it yet..

We purchase our electricity from http://www.goodenergy.co.uk Although, I often wonder if this actually does save carbon dioxide. Plus, some days I go past our local wind farm, and the turbines are all stationary, yet we still have electricity in our home.

[brettbh]

Makes you think about the effects of your activity.

Makes you realise too that in order to substantially reduce our impact on the environment we need to either 1. radically change what we do, even at the most basic of levels; or 2. discover ways to reduce our impact without giving things up (in other words, ensure that our transportation, computing, manufacturing processes, etc., etc. become more energy-efficient and are powered by clean energy).

Realistically, option #1 isn't going to happen any time soon. And that means we need to focus our attentions on #2.

[mountainhiker]

Makes you realise too that in order to substantially reduce our impact on the environment we need to either 1. radically change what we do, even at the most basic of levels; or 2. discover ways to reduce our impact without giving things up (in other words, ensure that our transportation, computing, manufacturing processes, etc., etc. become more energy-efficient and are powered by clean energy).

Realistically, option #1 isn't going to happen any time soon. And that means we need to focus our attentions on #2.

Have to agree with you on both points. That site does have some interesting points, however, seriously doubt that people will really stay longer on a site that has a "green" sticker on it. The rule on the web is still "content, content, content" followed by ease of use. These days people are more concerned about other issues than browsing only green sites. The government is going to have to carry the ball on forcing some key industries, ie auto, to get their act together.

[Simon]

That site does have some interesting points, however, seriously doubt that people will really stay longer on a site that has a "green" sticker on it.

I agree. For me it feels like this is just a cheap way to earn some easy cash from website owners.

And many webhosts these days are already "green". With that I mean that some power their servers with renewable energy such as wind and solar power and others use carbon offsetting by buying green tags or RECs.

This website and green blog is hosted on a "green" host. So I dont see any point in buying this service. Its a much better idea to support webhosts that are "green" and work hard to become as energy efficient as possible.