i search, therefore i'm green

"A single Google query consumes as much energy as an 11-watt light bulb does in one hour."

This according to the home page for Znout, an free Google-based search site. Znout says their search engine turns your "web searches into green web searches," by measuring the energy consumption of their servers, plus emissions from the network infrastructure, plus the energy consumption of your own computer.

Then they purchase renewable energy certificates (similar to carbon credits) to balance out the environmental footprint caused by searching. Apparently, this in itself makes your searches "eco-friendly."

Forestle - another "green search engine" based with Yahoo - donates all profits to the "Adopt an Acre" program of The Nature Conservancy, which uses this money for the sustainable protection of rainforests.

Sounds simple. But, like the debate over carbon offsetting (why are we not trying to reduce emissions instead?), it's not.

Both sites bear the logo "Green Certified Site" - a product of C02 stats, which charges between $10-100 a month in exchange for a logo that says your site is "carbon neutral and energy-efficient."

But hey, what's Google doing about the environment anyway? Search away! Ecocho | Blackle | EcoSeek