Google Maps deploys “ecological” routes

If you are a regular Google Maps user, you may be able to use the app to create less polluting choices in the future. Google announced wednesday add options to show drivers less carbon-intensive routes on the Maps app, as well as a host of other person-focused tools, such as showing the carbon footprint of flights .

The new feature is now available in the United States and will become an option in Europe next year. The servicee is powered by Google AI and data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the Ministry of Energy. Google said it estimates the feature could save more than a million tonnes of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road. (Google didn’t provide any information on how they arrived at this calculation, or how many Google users should consistently use the feature to achieve these savings.)

The fastest route by car is not always the most carbon efficient. Things like stop-and-go traffic and how smooth you drive can also affect emissions. Studies have also shown that most cars have a “sweet spot” of speed in terms of efficiency. Driving below 35 mph (56 km / h) and above 65 mph (105 km / h) tends to result in more emissions. Google said its data would also take into account things like road types, inclines and traffic jams to help with its calculations.

“This benefits the planet and also helps drivers save money, as routes that require higher fuel consumption also result in higher gas bills,” Russell Dicker, director of transportation products at Google Maps , told the Wall Street Journal in April, when the company first announced the initiative.

The announcement comes in combination with what Google says is better bike navigation as well as more information about bike sharing in different cities. This is part of a series of sustainability initiatives that Google says it is rolling out today, including initiatives to help people find less carbon-intensive flights, see hotels ” sustainability commitments and eco-certifications, and work with their Nest Thermostat to support renewable energies and energy efficiency.

Technically, this feature is supposed to be available today, but we couldn’t … use it. The company’s so-called “green routes” are marked with a green leaf and language indicating how much more fuel efficient a route is. I tried plugging in many different routes (route from my apartment to various places in New York, from my parents’ house to places in my hometown, from my college in Maine to day trips in the ‘State), and I haven’t seen anything different about the app on my phone. Ditto for my browser. Earther editor-in-chief Brian Kahn tried and failed to get an “green” route either. There’s a chance the handful of routes we picked at random just turned out to be the most effective. and fastest, but Brian tried the route shown in the image from Google’s blog post and got nada, so maybe the UX update hasn’t reached us yet. We’ve reached out to Google for help testing the feature and will update this post if we get a chance to test it.

Even without the possibility of testing Google Maps’ new feature, I continue have many questions about the usefulness of this service. It appears that the option for lower carbon routes may only appear if the routes are of a speed comparable to the fastest route, which would suggest that Maps may not show you a slower route. which would be less intense in emissions if it passed a sort of speed cut-off. Google also pointed out that this feature is completely optional and it’s easy to turn off in settings, so it’s very easy to ignore it if you want to.

All of Google’s announcements today – hotels, flights, Maps redesigns, options for using Nest – can be helpful, but they’re still firmly on the side of “people can fix this whole weather problem.” . that’s not it, boss. Google has praised his work to decarbonize its data centers by 2030, but it should be remembered that the company has a parcel respond beyond its own carbon footprint, in the way YouTube helped promote climate denial to the fact that Google works with oil and gas companies to provide cloud services that help extract more oil and gas. My ability to find a slightly more carbon-efficient homecoming can’t exactly make up for all of this.