Google Disputes Harvard Fellow’s Pollution Estimate

by admin January 12, 2009 at 8:28 pm

The carbon footprint of a search query is nowhere near the estimate concluded by a Harvard academic, Google said late Sunday.

British newspaper The Sunday Times published a story on Sunday with results from a study conducted by Alex Wissner-Gross, a physicist who estimates a Google search generates 7 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2), slightly less than half as much CO2 as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea.

Wissner-Gross maintains that it shows a Google search has “a definite environmental impact.”

Google, however, is arguing 7 grams is way off and is trivial compared to other CO2-spewing activities, such as driving.

Read more: pcworld.com