Flowers are blooming on Google’s home page today. The Google Doodle celebrates Earth Day, which began in 1970 and continues to be observed yearly on April 22 to continue raising awareness about environmental issues in more than 190 countries.
When you first arrive on Google’s home page, rather than seeing the typical logo made up of blue, red, yellow and green letters, you’ll find the Google letters arranged in an earthy shade of green. But within moments, through time-lapse animation, the shrubs bloom into colorful flowers and become something more than a garden-variety Google logo.
"The coming of spring inspired us to grow our annual Earth Day doodle right in our backyard," Google explained in a blog post. "We planted seeds on a balcony at our Mountain View headquarters and watched them grow into what you see today."
It’s not surprising Google annually tries to raise awareness about Earth Day, climate change, and the environment – though Google’s green initiatives are hardly limited to one logo a year. Google has invested more than $915 million in renewable energy, touts its energy-efficient data centers, and has launched several company-wide green initiatives through the years.
Since Google made a series of clean energy investments in the lead up to Earth Day last year, Google has invested $157 million in the Alta Wind Energy Center in the Mojave Desert in California.
In addition to investing $75 million to bring solar panels to homeowners, Google also invested $94 million in solar farms. Google also put together an Earth Day page, which links to green living resources on other Google properties such as Maps, Offers, and Google+.
Animated logos are hardly new for Google on Earth Day. Last year's Earth Day Google Doodle was interactive, featuring nine different animated animals – including a panda, penguin, and bear. Here’s a look back at all of Google’s Earth Day Doodles dating back to 2001:
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This year’s Earth Day theme is “A Billion Acts of Green!” Organizers are attempting to mobilize the Earth by asking individuals, businesses, and organizations to pledge some sort of environmental service today, such as planting trees, biking to work, eating locally-grown food, or taking part in a community clean up.
Will you be participating in any Earth Day activities this year? Let us know in the comments.
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