Alina Oprea • 24 April, 2023 at 11:18 AM
To celebrate Earth Day - marked every year on April 22, Google presents popular searches related to climate change and environmental protection. The data covers the last 12 months - March 2022 - March 2023 - and provides a detailed look at Romanians' environmental concerns. "What does climate change mean" was the most asked question on Google in Romania in the last year in relation to climate change. How to combat global warming, what its effects are on the environment, or how to prevent pollution were among the most popular questions asked by Romanians on Google on the subject of climate change.
Moreover, the Romanians wanted to know why we need climate change education.
The most searched questions on Google related to climate change/global warming (Romania, March 2022 - March 2023):
- What is climate change
- How to fight global warming
- Why we need climate change education
- What effects does global warming have on the environment
- How we prevent pollution
Searches related to solar energy were the most popular on Google in the last year in Romania, in the environment and ecology category. Also, electric cars and bicycles, nuclear and wind energy, pollution, and recycling are among the environmental topics with the most searches on Google in Romania. The biggest increase in interest in Romanians' searches (trending) on Google related to the environment in the last year is recorded for climate change, shale gas, hydraulic fracturing, and drought.
The environmental topics with the most searches on Google in Romania (March 2022 - March 2023):
- Solar energy
- Climate
- Veganism
- Recycling
- Electric bicycle
- Electric car
- Pollution
- Climate change
- Nuclear energy
- Wind energy
There has also been an increase in Google Maps searches over the past year for eco-friendly and/or outdoor spots. Thus, Romanians searched almost 60% more for electric vehicle charging stations (compared to the previous year), and hiking and picnic areas recorded, on average, a doubling of interest in searches on Google Maps in Romania, alongside organic food and used/second-hand clothing stores.
Google Maps offers different means for users to make "eco-friendly" choices, whether about protecting the environment, reducing pollution, or recycling. Starting last year, the ecological route option has been available on Google Maps (including in Romania). Users can choose to reach their destination on the route with the least fuel consumption, which translates into saving money and reducing carbon emissions. Those with an electric vehicle can search Google Maps for "electric charging station" to find their locations and other useful details, such as the types of ports needed and charging speeds.
Public transport is an environmentally friendly option, especially in busy cities. Google Maps offers a dedicated public transport navigation option: by selecting the transit icon in the Directions option, you get directions to your desired destination by bus, metro, train, and even ferry (where applicable). Bucharest is the city that recently received an important update on public transport navigation. Thus, the Google Maps interface for public transport displays in real time the time of arrival of vehicles at the station, including the delay to the traffic schedule, which helps better travel planning.
Anyone can contribute to Google Maps to protect the environment. Local guides are the community of Google Maps users who contribute information about places and businesses on Google Maps, whether it's a review or adding attributes to a place. The easiest way to do this is by updating the recycling attributes. So anyone can find out, by looking on Google Maps, if the nearby supermarket recycles plastic, for example, or if the electronics store collects used batteries.
Sustainability information for a business can also be added in the reviews section. Beyond the attributes, a review can add details about the programs run by the stores for those who recycle (for example used batteries or used cooking oil), the availability of recycling terminals, or other useful details for those who want to recycle.