Apparently there’s this thing going around involving people making efforts toward slowing the rate at which we destroy ourselves as well as the world in which we live. I guess it involves reducing pollution or some such nonsense. Maybe you've heard of it. More importantly, though, somebody else has heard of it and has begun to taken serious action: Google.

What started out as a modest little search engine slash research project has turned into an entity so enormous and powerful, and with so many acquisitions and projects from such a ridiculously diverse spectrum, that I’m not actually sure whether or not there’s even an appropriate title under which to categorize such an explosive company. Perhaps we could refer to it as the closest thing to what an atheist would agree to call "God."

The monstrously powerful and rapidly growing Google Inc. has another side that is less widely recognized, however: its self-proclaimed philanthropic arm Google.org, a “for-profit" charity. Meaning, unlike most charities, its "for-profit" status offers no tax exemptions, but also enables it to fund additional companies and form certain partnerships it would otherwise be unable to form. Created in 2004, it is an organization whose aim is to "address three major growing global problems: climate change, global public health, and economic development and poverty."

Regarding climate change, Google has already poured millions into developing a more effective plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Last week, it made public its new, even more ambitious goal: to generate a gigawatt of renewable energy — enough to power a city the size of San Francisco — at a lower cost than electricity from coal-powered plants, within the next five years or so.

In addition to its current resources, Google plans to hire 20 to 30 engineers and experts to accomplish its goal. It is not making these claims lightly, stating that it anticipates throwing hundreds of millions of dollars into these renewable energy projects. You might be thinking, "OK, well, what exactly does this mean?"

The answer is simple.

In a capitalist economy where the goal is to maximize profits, this is often done by cutting costs. Cutting costs does not typically include implementing more expensive technologies rather than using what is already reliable and efficient: cheaper coal-powered plants, all in the interest of making a minimal, unnoticeable impact on the environment.

It is obvious that businesses do whatever is financially advisable. If, however, the most cost-effective way to generate electricity becomes using techniques such as employing solar power, it doesn’t take an economist to figure out what companies will begin to do.

This is what is most impressive about Google’s strategy regarding the environment. It seems to recognize that, yes, maybe you can agree to be less wasteful and more mindful about the electricity you use. Maybe I can, too. Maybe even Random Jerk Corporation Wanting to Sound More Friendly, Inc., can do it.

The reality, though, is that our sparse, casual efforts really aren’t worth a damn. We live how we live, for the most part, and nothing short of unrealistically severe penalties for people and companies refusing to adhere to stricter guidelines is going to significantly change that.

So rather than trying to radically change how businesses go about doing business, Google seems to have signed up to change how to go about going about doing business. That is, rather than changing the amount of electricity that is used, why not change how we generate the electricity that is used? Considering that 40 percent of CO2 emissions in the U.S. are produced by coal-fired power plants, if Google can eliminate or largely reduce its need for coal, and if others follow in suit, there is great potential for an enormous reduction in emissions.

Finally, though it might seem obvious, it should be noted that the idea of making electricity via renewable resources is not a new idea and was certainly not created by Google. Technologies already exist that, as stated by Google co-founder Larry Page, "can mature into industries capable of providing electricity cheaper than coal," namely solar thermal technology. However, when you consider that coal companies’ technologies have remained strong but fairly static for years upon years, their complacency is sure to feel threatened when the wildly ambitious and successful Google Inc. — whose battle record is reminiscent of Alexander the Great’s — joins the fray.

Brenton Martell ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in English.