Google searches 'affect the environment'

LONDON: The next time you do a Google search from your computer, please spare a little thought for the environment.

A new study has revealed that performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea, which adversely affects the environment.

According to researchers, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 while boiling a kettle generates about 15g.

"Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power. Google are very efficient but their primary concern is to make searches fast and that means they have a lot of extra capacity that burns energy.

"A Google search has a definite environmental impact," lead researcher Alex Wissner-Gross of Harvard University was quoted by 'The Sunday Times' as saying.

In fact, Google's search engine generates high levels of CO2 because of the way it operates -- when one types in a Google search for, say, "energy saving tips", the request does not go to just one server but to several even miles apart.

And, Google's infrastructure sends data from whichever produces the answer fastest. Though the system helps minimise delays, it raises energy consumption. Google has servers in the US, Europe, Japan and China.