A darker side of Google is a good thing

Interesting article about the impact having a white (high light output) background on a site like Google might have on global power consumption. Very "Tipping Point" in suggesting a small change like this having a large impact on a global issue.

The online buzz over "going dark" began in earnest last January after Mark Ontkush, a self-described "green computing evangelist," wrote a blog post concerning environmentally friendly Web design. Ontkush claimed that if a popular site such as Google switched its home page background color from white to black, it could save hundreds of megawatt hours a year. He based his claim on the fact that certain types of monitors use less energy to display black than white screens. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency, cathode-ray-tube (CRT) monitors and even some flat-panel screens use less energy to display black or dark backgrounds.

Read the complete article or go to Mark Ontkush's great blog on Green Computing and Sustainable technology.

Try out Blackle - a google-based search engine that uses a dark background rather than a white one. Blackle does have its critics though, as many argue that dark screens consume more power on LCD monitors., only consuming less power with CRT monitors (which still make up 25% of the world's PC monitors).