On the Internet, anyone can be an environmentalist. All you have to do, is, well, nothing. A number of “green” internet businesses promise users they can help save the planet by doing little more than surfing the right websites.
在互联网上，谁都可以做个环保主义者。而你无需做什么。许多“绿色”互联网商务站点都承诺 用户，只要网上冲浪就可以拯救地球。
For instance, Blackle.com claims to help you save energy by offering a version of Google that has a black background, which may cut down on your display’s electricity consumption. There are green search engines, green shopping sites, and even green dating sites一it’s an impressive abundance of good intentions.
比如,Blackle. com声称可以帮助你节省能源，他们发布了一个google的新版本，这个版本的 背景是黑色的，这样可以降低你的显示器能耗。还有绿色搜索引擎、绿色购物网站,甚至有绿色约会网站——这些不错的主意令人印象深刻。
Unfortunately, the fight against global warming is slightly more challenging than changing your homepage or joining a Facebook group.
遗憾的是，应对全球变暖显然比更换主页或者加人一个 facebook群要更具有挑战性。
“People who want to reduce their carbon footprint and combat global warming are going to have to take action in their lives,” says Kate Smolski, a global warming campaigner for Greenpeace. “They need to do things like drive cars that are more gas efficient or change to energy-efficient appliances. And people should demand action from decision makers.”
绿色和平组织抵制全球变暖资深人士Kate Smolski说道:“那些 希望减少二氧化碳排放和阻止全球变暖的人们要在他们的日常生活 中采取行动，他们需要做的事情包括开更节油的汽车以及使用节能 器具，并且人们需要决策者的实际行动。”
That hasn’t stopped startups from capitalizing on the growing trendiness of anything “green.”
但这丝毫不影响给任何东西贴上“绿色”标签的趋势。
C02 Stats.com promises that by installing a couple lines of code into a website, users can reduce pollutants. The code, founders say, will track how much carbon dioxide running your website produces, based on the amount of traffic to the site. C02 Stats says it will then purchase carbon offsets accordingly. (When an offset is purchased—?either by a large corporation or well-meaning individuals一the money goes toward environmental projects, such as wind farms, that offset the carbon emissions.)
C02 Stats.com声称用户只要在自己的网站上添加一行代码 即可减少污染。创始人说,这段代码可以通过你的网站访问量跟踪 你的网站产生了多少二氧化碳。C02 Stats说届时他们会根据二氧 化碳的排放量进行抵消。（这个补偿被大型企业或好心的个人购买 后，钱会被投入环保项目，例如风力发电的农场，以抵消二氧化碳的 产生）
The founders of C02 Stats, Ph.D. students Alex Wissner~Gross and Tim Sullivan, are repeat entrepreneurs who recently sold (to Santa Barbara-based SurfMyAds.com) a web-based business that prints the entire text of publiodomain books on posters. They also run a site called Isonme.com, where people upload photos and get instant advice from strangers to questions like “Am I too thin?” and “What do you think of my new haircut?”
C02 Stats的创始人是博士研究生Alex Wissner—Gross和 Tim Sullivan，不久之前他们卖掉了共同创办的一个商务网站(总 部位于圣巴巴拉的SurfMyAds .com),这个站点提供公共出版物海 报的全文印刷品。他们也运作过一个名为Isonme.com的网站，那个 网站支持人们上传自己的照片并立即得到“我是不是太瘦了？”或 “你怎么看我的新发型? ”诸如此类问题的回应。
They launched C02 Stats.com at the end of October and so far，they say, 500 sites have installed the widget, contributing to nearly 2 metric tons, or about 4,400 pounds, in carbon offsets. At that rate, you might be better off buying your own offsets instead of installing the widget: 6,000 pounds in offsets costs just $ 30 through TerraPass. There’s no evidence that C02 Stats.com has spent a dime on carbon offsets~the founders claim they’ve spent “hundreds” of dollars on the project, but they haven’t produced any certificates proving their purchases yet.
C02 Stats.com从10月开始运营,到目前为止，他们说大约有 500个站点添加了代码，大约抵消了2吨，约合4400磅二氧化碳。照 此计算，你买下自己的排放量甚至比添加代码更有赚头：6000磅二氧化碳可以通过Terrapass兑换大约30美元，没有任何证据表明C02 Stats.com为二氧化碳 补偿花过哪怕一个钢币——创始人声称他们花费了“数百美元”在这个项目上，但却拿不出任 何凭据。
Greenbook, an application available on Facebook, also promises big things to its users for minimal effort, although it is making somewhat more progress. Greenbook^ purchases of carbon offsets are funded by payments from monthly sponsors of the application. So far, Greenbook has bought 345,718 pounds in renewable energy credits, or roughly 157 metric tons. Depending upon what sort of offsets one purchases, that could cost anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars. Assuming, though, that Greenbook spent $ 3,000 on credits in December, and it has an installed based of 400,000, that would imply it has spent less than one cent per user for the month.
Greenbook是Facebook上的一个活跃组织，它也向用户承诺花小钱办大事，而且颇有成效。 Greenbook每月用现金为成员抵消二氧化碳。截至目前,Greenbook买下了 345718磅可更新能源积 分，粗略计算约合157公吨。一个购买点换取何种补偿往往根据地区而定，大约从几百到几千美元 不等。Greent)ookl2月份约花费了 3000美元用于二氧化碳补偿，但他有40万用户，这意味着它每个 月仅为每个用户支付不到一美分。
It’s true that these sites are purchasing carbon offsets, and in some cases that can have beneficial environmental effects. But while it’s true that every bit counts, some bits are more useful than others.
这些网站确实在抵消二氧化碳的排放,并且某种意义上他们也确实为防止环境污染作出了贡 献。但是他们赚到的流量也是实实在在的，其中的一些流量远比其他的更有用。