Buzz
Computers and smartphones have become so integral to our lives that they feel like natural extensions of our minds—am I the only one who feels this way? A Google search delivers results almost instantly, making the information at our fingertips seem as intangible as the thoughts in our heads.
However, 'the cloud' is merely a metaphor; the data we rely on travels through physical cables and moves between servers in data centers. These machines, along with the cooling systems that prevent them from overheating, consume significant amounts of electricity, which must be generated from somewhere.
The internet is a tangible entity with an enormous environmental impact.
Artist Joana Moll created a visualization titled Defooooooooooooooooooooorest to illustrate the carbon dioxide emissions generated by Google. According to her calculations, one second of the company's energy consumption equals the amount of CO2 that 23 trees can absorb. Quartz reviewed her findings and noted that there is debate over how to accurately measure the carbon footprint of frequent Google searches. Google claims that a month of searches by one person has a carbon impact comparable to driving a car for one mile. (The company also emphasizes its efforts to reduce emissions and states that it is currently carbon neutral through the use of renewable energy and carbon offset programs.)
Google, as a company, engages in far more activities than just search. Additionally, your personal carbon footprint from searching should account for the energy consumed by your laptop or phone, for instance. While it's wise to approach these figures with some skepticism, appreciate Defooooooooooooooooooooorest as a vivid reminder that the internet is a tangible, physical entity.
