Google Wants To Help You Make Better Climate Decisions
One of the greatest ongoing tensions on the road to decarbonizing society is sweeping action vs. individual decision-making. As we’ve said before, to make meaningful climate progress, specific high-polluting companies and countries must decarbonize (or be forced to) to move the global emissions needle.
On the other side of the coin, shifting responsibility for the climate crisis onto individual consumers is a common, convenient tactic for corporate polluters trying to evade accountability. Nonetheless, together, millions of drops of water can become a river — or even an ocean. At large enough scale, individual choices become cultural trends like remote work and sustainable, plant-based eating, which do in fact matter.
One company that already helps lots of people make decisions — particularly which links and videos to look at when they search the internet — is Alphabet, i.e., Google.
This week, Google announced a major set of product updates the company claims will help people make more sustainable choices. Going forward, Google Search, Maps, Travel, and Nest will more clearly communicate the sustainability and emissions implications of things like trips, travel, and household energy use.
Google Search
Sometime this month, Google will update its search algorithm for people googling terms like “climate change.” The changes, Google claims, are designed to reduce misinformation and provide higher-quality educational and fact-based sources from reputable climate authorities like the United Nations. Google hasn’t yet clarified if these changes include YouTube, a media ecosystem rife with climate misinformation (and, by ommission, they likely don’t), but it’s a positive step nonetheless for one of the internet’s largest information brokers.
On the commerce side, Google also plans to update Search and Shopping to show eco-friendly products and alternatives, including electric vehicle results for standard car searches.
Google Maps
For people in the US, a new app store update to Google Maps will introduce predictions about the fuel efficiency of driving route(s), allowing you to compare the carbon footprint of different itineraries. [Note: I just downloaded the latest Google Maps update today and it still doesn’t appear to be in the app, so it’s not yet publicly available but should be this upcoming week] When the most fuel-efficient route’s the fastest, Google Maps will show that to you as the default option. If a more fuel-efficient route’s slower, the app will show you yours options so you can decide on the time-vs-carbon tradeoff. Google also says it’ll be releasing a similar feature in Europe in 2022.
For cyclists and micro-mobility travelers, Google Maps is also adding scooter and bikeshare information for 300 cities around the world, including NYC, Paris, Berlin, and São Paulo. Wherever cycling navigation’s offered on Google Maps, the app will feature “Lite Navigation” to help bikers see instructions and details about their route without having to leave their screen on.
Air Travel
Google’s also adding a carbon calculator to Google Flights, which will start listing the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with each flight. The best way to reduce your carbon footprint from air travel is to not fly at all and take a train instead (when possible). However, if you do need to fly, there are other factors and actions which can help optimize and/or shift your carbon footprint, including:
Take one direct flight, instead of multiple flights with layovers
Fly on a newer plane (newer planes are usually — but not always — more fuel efficient, and it’s often possible to see the plane model you’ll be flying on when you book the flight)
Purchasing carbon offsets for your flight to shift-cancel its footprint via your airline or a third party provider
Source: International Council for Clean Transportation
Choosing a more fuel efficient air travel itinerary can reduce the amount of CO2 pollution from a given route by as much as 63%.
Nest
One of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint from energy usage is to use less energy in the first place — particularly when it isn’t needed. Google’s new service for its Nest smart thermostat, called “Nest Renew,” increases the device’s energy efficiency and smart grid capabilities by automatically shifting heating and cooling to times when more renewable energy’s available on the grid. By doing so at scale, Nest may be able to help optimize renewable energy usage, while reducing the need for grid operators to use short-term, peak-load fossil fuel generation from natural gas.
Depending on how precise Nest’s cycling time is (and how accurate Google’s utility data is the devices are calibrating to), Nest Renew also has the potential to reduce electricity grid strain during high demand periods or times the grid’s facing generation or transmission issues like we saw this winter in Texas.
In contrast to the actions of companies like Facebook, Google’s announcement suite seems to affirm their — and our — view that the fight to mitigate the climate crisis is partly a war of information: make more people aware of the stakes and tradeoffs, help encourage good behavior, and try to make a lot of little actions add up to big change.
We still need the corporates to decarbonize (including Google), but this is a set of problems its helpful to address bottom-up as well as top-down.
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