Our priorities, as rigid as they can sound, have a serious knack of changing with time. These changes, in turn, can occur due to a variety of reasons. At times, it’s the external factors that decide how our priority list lines up, and in some cases internal factors are given the final say, but a shift of focus always remains on the cards nonetheless. Now, being able to adjust ourselves according to the circumstances is a good thing by all means, but in some instances, this merry-go-round of what really matters can also have adverse effects. A prominent example of it would be how our attention was entirely grabbed by one source when technology zoomed into the picture. All of a sudden, everything else seemed slightly less important, and in that group of overlooked elements was the very environment around us. To be fair, at the time we had legitimate reasons to stay compelled by the tech concept, but when the dynamics of focus remained the same for extended periods, things on other frontiers started to deteriorate. The most devastating consequences appeared in the domain of environment, as the reality of climate change finally started to settle in. Even though we are in a much worse state than from when he first heard about such a thing, a good part of world’s population still continues to deny it, thus hampering what needs to be a collective effort to save the world. Nevertheless, for people who actually want to make a positive difference in this regard, Google is coming up with something that has every bit of potential to become monumental over the long run.
Google, in the latest version of Google Maps and Google Flights, has introduced a series of features that are constructed to curb the effect of automotive transportation on the environment. It achieves that purpose by suggesting you the routes which are most fuel-efficient, therefore minimizing the carbon emissions to a technologically possible extent. This feature is based on the data collected from US Department of Energy. According to the data, eco-friendly routing can very well stop over one million ton of carbon emission from damaging the atmosphere every year, a revelation that Google likened to removing whopping 200,000 cars from the road. The most eco-friendly route can be distinguished from other ones by a green leaf beside it. Upon digging into the said route, you will be able to see your ETA along with how much fuel you will be saving.
For bikers, Google has brought in a new feature called ‘Lite Navigation’, which frees the biker from having to rely on turn-by-turn navigation or even keeping their screen on. Furthermore, Lite Navigation not only updates your ETA in real time, but it also informs you about the elevation of your route.
Apart from that, in the company’s bid to cut corners on carbon emissions, Google will also be looking to provide details about bike and scooter sharing. Set to be available in over 300 cities across the globe, this feature of Google will let you know everything about nearby docking stations and how they are doing in terms of vehicle availability at a given time.
Google Flights, on the other hand, will be educating the user about carbon emission estimates for almost every flight out there. Interestingly, the company claimed that these estimations are also seat-specific, as some sections of the flight generally account for more emissions than the other ones.