Google Funding Green Technology Projects

Internet search giant Google has announced its intention to invest in a variety of green technologies that have thus far been unable to secure large amounts of funding. The search engine is looking to invest in companies dealing with renewable energy and green technologies. The primary goal of the program is to finance projects that pursue alternative energies that can be realized at a production cost lower than that of coal.

The project is being headed by the charitable arm of Google, Google.org . The organization, headed by Dr. Larry Brilliant, has approximately $2 billion at its disposable, much of it being stock given to the charity during Google’s IPO.

Google has stated that it is willing to devote hundreds of millions of dollars to the initiative allowing for greater research. Such large sums of money will be required due to the expenses involved in designing and developing working examples of alternative technologies on a large scale.

While many have pushed governments for years to encourage the growth and development of green technologies, little headway has been made. It may take an innovative company such as Google and other private industry to truly make an impact and help curb climate change and lessen the damaging effects of pollution on our environment.

Coal by far is still the most common method for producer power in the United States, largely due to its extremely low cost and large reserves, of which the United States has the largest. Unfortunately, while plentiful, coal is the cause of a large amount of pollution due to its emission of carbon dioxide and other substances when burned.

$20 million has already been invested in renewable energy technologies by Google. $10 million has gone to eSolar Inc. for the development for solar thermal power while Makani Power Inc. has also received $10 million to build high altitude wind technology. Google is also looking to fund companies involved with enhanced geothermal systems .        

Our air is not getting any cleaner, and if the government will not do anything about it, someone in private industry probably will. So let us use our spending power as consumers to convey approval of companies encouraging eco-friendliness and sanction those who do not show the same sense of social responsibility.

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