Green websites are the need of the hour

Link

Green websites are the need of the hour when everything online has a definite environmental impact

There's been a huge debate lately about the growing amount of energy needed to power the Internet. But how about making our websites green and the Internet more energy-efficient? Harvard University Physicist Alex Wissner-Gross, author of a study that examined the energy impact of Web searches says, "We found that it takes on average about 20 milligrammes of CO2 per second to visit a website." and "...everything online has a definite environmental impact..." which highlights the fact that Internet surfing come at a cost to the environment. According to studies, global carbon emissions -- on account of information and communications technology -- are greater than those of the entire aviation industry.

As the use of the Internet grows, its impact on the climate will only multiply and thus the great need for reducing energy spending. One such effort is to encourage website owners (hosts) to make their websites green and environment friendly.

Pioneered by CO2Stats, comes an easy-to-use service that makes your website carbon neutral and one that provides certification that you have taken steps to make it so. Says CO2Stats' website (www.co2 stats.com) that uses a software suite that helps you make your site energy-efficient, "Your website has a carbon footprint because electricity is required to power the servers that host your website, the computers used to view it, and the global networks that connect them."

CO2Stats is a novel software suite that automatically first monitors a site's energy usage; second gives tips on how to make the site more energy-efficient (and load faster), and third purchases the appropriate amount of audited renewable energy from wind and solar farms. Likewise, it is able to calculate what type of energy a visitor's server is using, and even the amount of energy being used to power the networks that are connecting visitors' computers with the servers.

At the end of every month, CO2Stats tallies the website's fossil fuel consumption and then automatically purchases the appropriate amount of renewable energy from wind and solar farms to compensate. It also scans the website to find ways to make it more energy-efficient. If the host makes regular changes to the site, CO2Stats makes sure that the site is operating efficiently.

By improving the site's energy efficiency, the owner can save on bandwidth costs and increase customer satisfaction and conversions through faster page load times. Hosts also get a CO2Stats `Green Certified Site' trustmark. However, all this comes at a price, depending upon the size of the website along with other factor