Numbers

After the last posts related to technology I wanted to go back to the ‘green world’ but… How to do it seamlessly? As in many other aspects of life, the answer is in the numbers! Today the game will consist of going from 70+20+10 to 20-20-20. Don’t worry… It’s not complicated but only one of the many ways of linking both worlds: technology and environment/renewables.

According to many, the first combination of numbers equals Google. The underlying explanation is given by Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, who is the main person responsible for the labour policy in the company. If you are still lost, let me introduce you to how Google wants its employees to distribute their working time according to Schmidt’s own words:

“Here’s how it works for management: We spend 70% of our time on core search and ads. We spend 20% on adjacent businesses, ones related to the core businesses in some interesting way. Examples of that would be Google News, Google Earth, and Google Local. And then 10% of our time should be on things that are truly new”.

And it seems that even Larry and Sergey are now operating under 70/20/10 too! Smart, isn’t it? And now that both Mr. Page and Mr. Brin are already in our post, let me tell you about what has been considered as an eccentric move by  these fierce advocates of the ‘green energy’. Google, a company that generates most of its revenues from online advertising, is spending tens of millions of dollars on renewables under the project ‘Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal’, and plans to spend much more  on R&D alone, beginning with the hiring of scientists and engineers who can lead the effort.

In order to make you understand the underlying philosophy of both founders, please share this short video with me:

And now let me introduce you to the European Union (EU) and its climate targets based on three areas: a 20% cut in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2020, compared with 1990 levels; a 20% increase in the share of renewables in the energy mix; and a 20% cut in energy consumption. Do the numbers now make sense?

It seems that at least for once  the EU is leading the way after the  last-minute Copenhagen deal, which did not explain in detail how the target of limiting global warming to 2ºC this century could be achieved. Due to the lack of binding targets in that summit, EU governments want other major polluters worldwide to adopt targets similar to the EU’s, especially the US, the biggest polluter.

Even if the change in the US Administration has put green targets on the agenda in a way that the Bush administration never did and Obama has pledged a 17% cut in emissions from 2005 levels by 2020, the facts are that US emissions have risen by about 15% since 1990. Moreover, there are signs that the US Congress will not go as far as backing a 17% cut.

However, and going back to previous posts (see ‘drill, baby, drill’) Obama has already stopped further drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and has taken a step back from his ideas of exploring Alaska. Not only that but he is committed to pushing renewables and a change on the grid (from the  current technologies to a new so called ‘smart-grid’ that allows the integration of renewables).

So… Will the examples of Google and the EU be enough to foster renewables, a more responsible consumption and a cut in emissions of GHG in the US?

Time will tell…

C U soon!