I think that new media can change the world, but I'm not getting my hopes up about smart games as the environment's savior.

I'm all for environmental games and anything else that raises awareness about environmental issues AND that ultimately benefits the environment, but I think "smart" environmental games will not do so because it takes CO2 to play them and I think that the only people who will play them are those are already doing what they can to help the environment.

I played http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carbon-chaos/id351198570?mt=8 and was left feeling guilty about the CO2 that was generated in the production of the game and while I played it. There was no point to the game and it was boring "dragging" a bike, car, and bus to a destination (and I consider myself an environmentalist!).

I think a better way to help the environment for people who want to "play" online are carbon calculators like UC Berkeley's: http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/ There is a point to the game (you can calculate your carbon output) and you can learn how to reduce it. I may be an enviro-dork, but I think it's fun (as well as my duty) to have a contest with myself, with fellow Californians, and Americans to see how much I can reduce my carbon impact.

While I liked the calculator and did not like the "smart" game, I think it's good to get the message out in a variety of ways to try to reach the most people. My life was changed because of a 1990 documentary (Race to Save the Planet). Something else may light the spark for someone else. While I must confess to enjoying pointless games (like Tetris and Chicktionary) , for environmental purposes, I think old fashioned games are best (like relay races where players run to discard compostable, recyclable, or reusable items in bins placed further from the start according to how many resources are used).

does my search for a global warming game warm the globe?

I think Eric has a good point about games that educate about global warming, but need to be played electronically.

I think online games that raise awareness about global warming can be helpful, but it's also important to keep in mind that everything we do has an impact -- even doing an online search for such a game may contribute to global warming!


Google's blog notes that "In terms of greenhouse gases, one Google search is equivalent to about 0.2 grams of CO2." http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/powering-google-search.html . To put that in perspective: "Thus, the average car driven for one kilometer (0.6 miles for those in the U.S.) produces as many greenhouse gases as a thousand Google searches." The blog also provided this interesting update: "a typical individual's Google use for an entire year would produce about the same amount of CO2 as just a single load of washing."

While the google search may be small, I think it's important that we offset at least that amount by making sure to share the game with people who might be inspired to do something to help the cause - not just play it.

This made me remember a question someone posed about the environmental impact of "environmental" bumper stickers -- we need to think about the chemicals and resources used to produce the sticker as well as the larger impact of inspiring others to save our earth.