August 8, 2007 10:00 AM PDT
More corporate greening: Ask.com plants trees, cuts energy use
Ask.com says it is answering Michael Dell's challenge to companies to become more green.
The IAC-owned search engine announced Wednesday that it's using Dell servers in its new data center that will use 30 percent less energy without sacrificing computing power. Plus, Ask is planting "thousands" of trees as part of Dell's "Plant a Tree For Me" initiative in which trees are planted to offset carbon emissions.
The CEO of Dell made the pitch back at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Many tech companies have made their own pledges to adopt a greener attitude.
The global IT industry accounts for the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions--2 percent--as the aviation industry, according to Gartner.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica.
That means the IT industry's contribution (assuming the figure is even close to being correct) makes up what, 0.0006 percent?
We need to do something. At this rate it could become a problem in a few thousand years.