Going carbon neutral

At Google we're committed to helping build a clean energy future, and we have several projects and initiatives in the works to support this goal. As part of that responsibility, Google has committed to being carbon-neutral, meaning we offset carbon for all of our business operations. And with the November 2007 announcement of our new renewable energy R&D group, Google's co-founder Larry Page upped the ante, saying, "Our goal is to build one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal, and we are optimistic that this can be done within years, not decades."

In our Mountain View headquarters we currently have a 1.6 megawatt (MW) solar panel installation that generates 30% of the peak power necessary to fuel the buildings on which they are located. And at our Google office in Hyderabad, India, we're planning to install solar modules that heat all the water for the building.

here are our rooftop solar panels; see more photos at www.google.com/apps/bus

Now to further support this mission, we have decided to incorporate the "App to School" bus tour in our goal of leading a clean energy revolution. The sustainable bus we're driving across the USA runs on 99% biodiesel and is powered by solar panels on the roof. Going one step further we are also going to offset five tons of carbon emissions released by biodiesel combustion through http://www.liveclimate.org/, an organization that "funds" worthy carbon-negative projects in Nicaragua, Uganda, and Mexico. For our donation, we're going to support a small enterprise in Nicaragua (supported by the nonprofit E+Co) to install solar panels on homes, schools, and health centers. Light from the solar systems replaces kerosene lanterns that emit a lot of carbon for the small amount of light they provide. Half of the funds will go to Tecnosol to install solar panels, and the other half to E+Carbon, an affiliate of the nonprofit E+Co to provide technical assistance to Tecnosol and other small renewable energy enterprises.

Riding the bus in sustainable style makes for a much smoother ride. Learn more about how you can do your part to reduce your carbon footprint.

Posted by Miriam Schneider, Associate Product Marketing Manager and clean energy enthusiast
Link - from Google Student Blog
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