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.