Greenscroll and Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of the Internet

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Data centers are energy hogs in a big way. This we know. And they’re energy hogs because they’re busy helping us update our Facebook status, tweet the latest news blips, buy our e-books, and check our email. We focus primarily on the data centers themselves, which can be retrofitted or built to be energy efficient. However, every so often, we catch wind of projects that are trying to green the web from another direction - primarily, through the users and alternative energy sources. That’s where Greenscroll comes in.

Thanks to an announcement made by their team in the TreeHugger Forums, we caught wind of the work they’re doing to try and shrink the massive carbon footprint that all of us using the Internet creates.

They’re a non-profit group that collects funds from people and companies that have a web presence, and reinvests that money into green energy projects with the hope of off-setting some of the dirty energy sources going toward running and using the Internet with clean energy sources.

So does it make a difference? That’s debatable. The folks sending in money for the project aren’t necessarily directly receiving the energy generated from renewable sources. So it’s not like the websites participating are being run on renewable energy, a direct link we’d love to see that would move this project from working towards greener to working towards green. However, we do encourage the purchase of renewable energy wherever possible because the demand alone is an important part of the switch to clean energy.

If you run a website and aren’t able to directly purchase green power (which would be the better option), then check out what Greenscroll is doing. They’re open to conversation about what renewable energy projects should receive their funding, and try to stay as transparent as possible about how their operations run.

More on Greening the Web

6 Ways to Green Your Website

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/green-website-tips.html

6 Ways to Offset Your Web Surfing Emissions

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/offset-web-surfing.html

What are the Top-Rated Carbon Offset Companies?

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/top-carbon-offset-companies.html

Taproot Uses Wind Power for Web Hosting

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/taproot-uses-wind-for-greener-web-hosting.php