Blackle operates on the principle that displaying a black computer screen requires less energy than showing a white screen.  This only holds true when CRT monitors are involved, but “an all white web page uses about 74 watts to display, while an all black page uses only 59 watts,” according to Mark Ontkush.

Ontkush was cited two months ago in an article by TreeHugger about Blackle.  Since, then, Blackle has been mentioned by the Brisbane Times (an Australian publication), bigmouthmedia (a UK company), and the Hindustan Times (which is based in India) – word is definitely spreading.

And from a pure “search” standpoint, there’s no reason for it not to; Blackle’s design is very similar to Google’s, and the search results are identical.  Getting used to the gray-text-on-black-background is difficult, however, and many people (including your humble author) have found it harder to read then the traditional black-on-white.  Time wasted due to squinting may make up for the slight difference in power levels.

Still, given Google’s interest in conservation, it’s interesting to see what people have done with the engine in the environment’s name.