Google has "Big Goals and Directions"

From Treehugger comes a post about an internal memo from Google entitled "Big Goals and Directions " that was recently leaked to the public. Amongst promises to expand advertising revenue another billion dollars, and to control spam in 20 different languages, Google also expounded on plans to increase its green power consumption to ten megawatts in the short term, and sees that as a step toward complete carbon neutrality.

Google searches stored copies of the entire internet millions of times daily, the hardware required to perform that amazing feat is not trivial. Google operates some 50,000 servers, each one consuming a good deal of power. Google has recently warned that the power consumed by servers is soon going to cost more than the machines themselves.

Estimates of Google's power consumption lie in the 20 to 30 megawatt range, so 10 megawatts of green energy is not an insignificant step toward carbon neutrality. Already, Google has 2 megawatts of solar online to help power its Mountain Valley complex, the Googleplex.

Where will the other eight megawatts come from? We're still waiting to see.

Charity: Water

It is the goal of charity: water to not only provide safe water to those in need, but to do so through projects that involve the communities they serve in the process. Charity seeks out projects that include the installation of freshwater systems, as well as the formation and training of local water committees with the know- how to maintain the systems themselves.

Buy a virtual bottle of water for $20 and provide clean water to someone who needs it for 15 years.  Buy a case for $480 and help provide the infrastructure to produce the equivalent of more than 13 million 16.9 oz. bottles of water in Africa.  Thanks to Daily Candy for the heads up.

Energy& Environment Public Lecture Series: Made in China

The rate and magnitude of China's emergence in the 21st century as a world power is unprecedented. Ted C. Fishman, author of China, Inc., will examine the global implications of China's rapid growth, and will discuss how China is changing, and how China is changing the world on Monday, December 4, 2006 at 7:00 pm at Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University.  Check out Zvents for directions and details.