Larry Page, Google's new chief executive and the company's co-founder, has marked his appointment by spending US$168 million (Dh616.3m) of the search engine's cash to help fund a solar power plant in California's Mojave Desert.
The Ivanpah solar power plant, which is being developed by BrightSource Energy, will also be financed by the US-based energy giant NRG with clean-energy technology loan guarantees provided by the US Department of Energy. It uses a new technology called "Power Towers", in which a field of mirrors, called heliostats, concentrate the sun's rays onto a solar receiver on top of a tower.
According to Google, the new plant is the environmental equivalent of taking more than 90,000 cars off the road over the lifetime of the plant, projected to be more than 25 years. Google says it has now invested a total of $250m in the clean-energy sector.
But the timing of Google's investment in the Mojave Desert project has led some investors to see the move as an attempt by Mr Page to improve Google's tarnished public image. Under outgoing chief executive Eric Schmidt's leadership, the company's "cool" brand image was severely damaged by an overly cavalier attitude towards personal information entrusted to it by users.
Before investors are swayed by the publicity surrounding investment in isolated projects such as the Ivanpah solar plant, they should also reflect that Google's entire clean-sector investment represents less than 3 per cent of the company's last quarterly advertising revenues.
Even this contribution must also be seen in the context of the IT industry's overall impact on the environment. Although Google does not make the devices that run its internet services, it must at least accept partial responsibility for the negative environmental impact of all the millions of smartphones and computers that either run its Android software or access its services. The IT industry as a whole is now coming under increasingly heavy flak from analysts and industry watchers for its green pretensions.
"IT is not green and never will be," says Doug Washburn, an analyst at Forrester, an international research company.
"While technology vendors continue to make strides to reduce their environmental impacts, IT equipment still suffers design, manufacturing and disposal challenges."
According to Forrester's IT research team, the list of environmental hazards created by the IT industry is very long. The presence, for instance, in IT equipment of highly toxic chemicals with known human health risks creates potential hazards.
The US Environmental Protection Agency warns that exposure to common substances found in today's IT equipment can lead to death or serious illness such as cancer, birth defects, brain and nervous system damage, and mental disturbances. Lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are just a few of the toxic chemicals essential to the manufacture of IT gadgets.
There is also a widespread misconception among many green investors that internet-based service companies, such as Google and its younger rival Facebook, have an extremely low environmental impact when compared with manufacturing companies.
But this view is not born out by scientific study. According to Forrester, the vast computer banks running the data centres such as those operated by Google and Facebook consume 45 per cent of the IT industry's energy usage.
Overall, energy consumption by the internet industry's mushrooming data centres is also set to grow as internet-enabled mobile devices are increasingly adopted in the developing regions of the world.
"With more than 69 per cent of global electricity derived from greenhouse-gas-emitting fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas, coupled with the booming demand for IT services, operating equipment will further contribute to environmental challenges such as global climate change," says Mr Washburn.
In the current economic climate, Google is like any other major US corporation. Despite its idealistic company motto of "Do No Evil", its two main motivations are cost-cutting and shareholder satisfaction.
Analysts believe that it is the desire to cut operating costs rather than altruistic impulses on the part of Silicon Valley chief executives that will persuade IT companies to reduce their massive environmental footprint.
"Don't be fooled," warns Mr Washburn. "Green IT is as much about saving money as it is about saving the world."
Forrester's April 2010 Global Green IT Online Survey reported that the two main motivations for green IT are the financial drivers to cut energy-related operating expenses and reduce other IT operating expenses.
But IT stocks are also notoriously vulnerable to investor sentiment. The market considers brands such as Google and Apple as being far "cooler" than IT veterans such as Microsoft and Intel. Google, in its turn, feels Facebook's hot breath on its neck.
In this highly competitive and brand-conscious market, green investors can vote with their cash to ensure that the IT industry finally starts to make a full account of its total environmental impact.
pf@thenational.ae
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
The view from The National
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
