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>> all the stuff we trained in our Google Data Center — the carbon footprint is zero That is a lie unless Jeff Dean lives under different physics laws.

m0zg 7y ago
Yeah, unless this is powered entirely by nuclear or renewables, or unless the emitted carbon is then extracted from the atmosphere, the carbon footprint of all this is most definitely not zero. It's like all those celebs buying carbon "offsets" after flying private to climate summits of all sorts. Dude, your carbon footprint is way, way, above zero, and you paying for "offsets" doesn't reduce it one iota.
- wnkrshm 7y ago
  Even better that the offset projects aren't necessarily helping. Apparently it isn't even clear whether just planting trees anywhere has a net positive influence on combatting the greenhouse effect [0]. Trees may be required to be planted at suitable locations or else they actually contribute to warming. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00122-z https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00122-z
joatmon-snoo 7y ago
It's a mix of (1) great work around sustainable processes and (2) nuances in defining carbon footprint. (disclaimer: work at G) https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-sustainability.appspot.com/pdf/Google_2018-Environmental-Report.pdf https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-sustainability.appspot.c... https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/renewable/ https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/renewable/
- account73466 7y ago
  Buying renewable energy does not make your footprint zero. You can twist the definition until it suits your needs but if you properly count footprint of the chain, it cannot be zero.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
    Google buys high quality carbon offsets, not just renewable energy. It's not clear whether that makes the footprint zero. It surely depends on how you count. But their approach is less naive than "just buy RECs."

m0zg 7y ago

Yeah, unless this is powered entirely by nuclear or renewables, or unless the emitted carbon is then extracted from the atmosphere, the carbon footprint of all this is most definitely not zero. It's like all those celebs buying carbon "offsets" after flying private to climate summits of all sorts. Dude, your carbon footprint is way, way, above zero, and you paying for "offsets" doesn't reduce it one iota.

wnkrshm 7y ago
Even better that the offset projects aren't necessarily helping. Apparently it isn't even clear whether just planting trees anywhere has a net positive influence on combatting the greenhouse effect [0]. Trees may be required to be planted at suitable locations or else they actually contribute to warming. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00122-z https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00122-z

joatmon-snoo 7y ago

It's a mix of (1) great work around sustainable processes and (2) nuances in defining carbon footprint. (disclaimer: work at G) https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-sustainability.appspot.com/pdf/Google_2018-Environmental-Report.pdf https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-sustainability.appspot.c... https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/renewable/ https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/renewable/

account73466 7y ago
Buying renewable energy does not make your footprint zero. You can twist the definition until it suits your needs but if you properly count footprint of the chain, it cannot be zero.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
  Google buys high quality carbon offsets, not just renewable energy. It's not clear whether that makes the footprint zero. It surely depends on how you count. But their approach is less naive than "just buy RECs."