The culture of the electronic economy has cut emissions from driving down, but remember - there is no free lunch. All those smartphones, servers and electronic devices require electricity and many act as energy vampires that draw power even when not in direct use. We can turn off air conditioning, cars and lights, but many of us leave the cell phones and other devices on even as we sleep.
A new paper claims an average smart phone uses even more energy than a mid-sized Energy Star rated refrigerator - averaging 322 KWH a year - compared to about 361 KWH for a phone’s wireless connections, data usage and battery charging. The world wide Information Communication Technology ecosystem uses about 10% of the planet’s energy and it is growing. The paper’s author and CEO of Digital Power Group, Mark Mills, calculates that more energy is burned streaming a high-def movie than to manufacture and ship a DVD of the same film.
Technology advances like HP’s recent claim to a revolutionary next generation server that uses 89% less energy and takes up 80% less space may help, but, of course, future tech will probably add future devices.
http://ti.me/1eIZyuG
See also: InClimate 223, 68; (The Electric Cloud) Aug. 12 (Energy Vampires) Mar. 10