How Google Calculates the impact on the climate of a flight has been altered so that they appear to be less harmful to the environment than before.
Flights seem to have now a significantly less environmental impact than they used to since “the web search engine removed the primary driver for global warming from its carbon flight calculator on the internet,” reports the BBC.
In a statement on the changes, Dr. Doug Parr, chief scientist of Greenpeace, commented: ” Google has removed a significant portion of the impact of climate change on aviation off its websites.”
In announcing the changes, the company stated that they’d made the change after discussions with its “industry partners” that will affect carbon calculators that are part of its Google Flights search tool.
What are the modifications made by Google in how it evaluates emissions?
Google is the home of nine of 10 online searches and could have massive implications for travelers’ travel choices.
The company stated that it was able to make the changes after consultations on behalf of “industry partners” and affecting carbon calculators that are integrated into its Google Flights search tool.
According to the BBC, if you’ve ever had the chance to locate a flight on Google, then you’ve utilized its Google Flights software.
The feature appears at the top of the results page. It allows users to search the internet for airfares and flights while providing the ability to calculate emissions generated by your trip.
The goal of the feature is to “help you make better choices for your travel,” but in July, the search engine did not take into account the negative effects of flying on climate change reports the BBC.
It means that the algorithms used by search engines currently only reflect more than half of the true effect of climate on flights.
How does flying impact the environment?
The primary way flying impacts the environment is via its emissions of CO 2 produced by burning aviation fuel.
Additionally, there is the possibility of creating thick, thin clouds in the atmosphere, also known as contrails. These clouds hold heat produced by the Earth and cause net warming.
The additional effects of these are that aviation contributes to around 3.5 percent of the global temperature rise caused by humans’ activities, reports the BBC.
What has been people’s reaction to the changes Google makes to its method of calculating emissions?
Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt has claimed the company’s mission is to “build tools that will allow travelers and businesses from all over the globe to put sustainability first.”
But experts in the field think that the reverse is true. Kit Brennan, a founder of Thrust Carbon, the UK firm that specializes in helping businesses minimize the impact their travels have on the environment, stated: “I worry the impact of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide two is going to be overlooked since it is not visible to consumers.”
Prof. David Lee of Manchester Metropolitan University and the creator of the most thorough scientific analysis of aviation’s contribution to global warming. He said: “It now significantly understates the impact of aviation on climate.”
