Word spread quickly about a new approach to save energy while browsing the web. Blackle, a search engine using Google’s technology is designed with an all black homepage, which claims to use less energy than an all white screen. After some online research done by my friends at Patagonia, an environmentally conscious clothing retailer, Blackle appears to be making False claims. In this post by Google, they mention that displaying all black screens on some monitors may even use more energy.

“We applaud the spirit of the idea, but our own analysis as well as that of others shows that making the Google homepage black will not reduce energy consumption. To the contrary, on flat-panel monitors (already estimated to be 75% of the market), displaying black may actually increase energy usage.”

At least it got the conversation started on how we can make small changes in our daily lives to save energy.