That being said, there is always an issue of "greenwashing" taking place when companies begin to promote their environmentally-friendly policies and products. Although green is good, sometimes when a company attaches a "green" label to a product, the truth is the product/company may be masking what they are actually doing during the production process of all their products.
Before I go further I do not believe Google is necessarily greenwashing their image to the public (I am sure there are those who disagree). I think they are making a tentative investment in a new technology (that is the nature of business, you weigh the risk and invest according). Although it would be very encouraging to see Google invest $100 million into the project, they are nonetheless a business.
However there is still something to be said about those green labels you see on many of the new products on our store shelves. To be honest, buying a 'green' product is not going to save the planet. Conserving energy, buying less, reducing our consumption of nonrenewable resources and doing our homework before we buy a product are the best ways to make a positive impact on the environment. It is only common sense to not believe everything you read! Caveat emptor fellow environmentalists!
