Once you go Blackle: While it is not quite as clear as black and white, www.Blackle.com hopes to save energy.
The search page saves small amounts of power by using a black screen instead of Google’s typical white.
Created by Australia’s Heap Media, Blackle.com includes a running estimate of the watt hours it has saved at the bottom of its page. Right now, it’s at more than 800,000.
The site, powered by Google searches, was based around an idea in a 2002 paper prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy. It said that lighting a black screen uses less energy than a white one.
Skeptics may note the savings are slight and the gray-on-black typeface is hard to read. Still, the site argues that seeing a black screen each day has another benefit: It reminds you to take small steps to save energy.
Andy Rathbun
arathbun@heraldnet.com
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