Green pressure

the future of search engines

We live in a Knowledge Society, where we are improving our human condition by consuming data and information regarding culture, politics and entertainment. We carry the knowledge of the world in our jean pockets and it’s also easily accessible on our fingertips all the time. Looking up information on our phones, computers and tablets has become common and natural… Almost like a new Next Nature? I already wrote an article featuring the Pyramid of Technology by Next Nature Network, addressing the future of sexual behavior. This time, let’s place search engines in this pyramid: even though we still have access to physical books in our homes and public libraries, accessing the broad encyclopedia that is the Internet has been hard to live without for the last decade. And companies are loving it.

Let’s explore: how will our attitude change towards search engines in this coming decade?

Green pressure, where consumers move from eco-status to eco-shame, will grow in 2020. Not participating in living more eco-friendly and sustainable in order to decrease your carbon footprint will be something to be ashamed of, according to trendwatching.com

The political party you vote for, your energy supplier and the amount of plane trips you take are three of the biggest changes an individual can make to contribute to the viability of our planet, according to journalist Jelmer Mommers. But as you know, change doesn’t come without friction, and people are not very prone to change in general. For many, small steps towards the right direction are the way to go, like using a stainless-steel straw instead of a plastic one. Switching to a green(er) search engine, like Ecosia and Ekoru could also be an option. While the first one has been birthed ten years ago, the latter has been launched just over a month ago. Both of them vouch for the same problem: the large amount of carbon dioxide that is being produced when searching for information is problematic.

Every second, Google produces about 500kg of carbon dioxide, according to recent estimates. According to founder of Ekoru, Ati Bakush, the goal of the search engine is not to make large profits like Google and Yahoo. Instead, 60 percent of revenue streams go to partners that are engaged in ocean cleanups.