It should come as no surprise to the average person that the use of electronics and high-powered gadgets worldwide is at an all time high, with new technologies being incorporated into our lives on a daily basis. Whether it be that brand- new cell phone, that slick new IPod or the latest gaming console, we are now using more electronics than ever before. Of course there are technologies that have become a necessity in this new global economy; without a cellphone there is almost no way you can do your job quickly and efficiently anymore, but there are also technologies which have become a part of our daily routine which we may not necessarily need; as great as a Playstation is, you could probably survive without one.
The benefits of these technologies are endless. In today’s world we can interact with people across the globe, whether it be family or friends.We can do business worldwide, which has helped spur international business developments around the globe and we can gather information on any topic within mere seconds. However, there is still one major negative that has arisen with the invention of all these new gadgets. When we think of all the new technologies that have helped make our life easier and have helped us interact on a global level, we tend to overlook the negative effect that all these new gadgets are having on the environment.
The issue of environmental efficiency is in itself not new to us. For years we have seen the harmful effects that vehicles, factories and power plants have had on the environment. Oftentimes we mistake environmental pollution to merely mean toxic waste emissions that we produce in our everyday lives. What many of us don’t realize is that the more energy we use to power our electronics, the more energy is created by power plants, which in turn leads to more harmful pollution damaging the environment.
In fact “worldwide, consumer electronics now represent 15 percent of household power demand, and that is expected to triple over the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency, making it more difficult to tackle the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. To satisfy the demand from gadgets will require building the equivalent of 560 coal-fired power plants, or 230 nuclear plants, according to the agency.”
(Source NY Times)
Part of this problem is due to countries like the United States refusing to regulate electronic efficiency standards. This has allowed companies to produce more high-powered gadgets that people may love, but that are extremely energy inefficient. The best example of this is the flat screen television. Nowadays nearly all new television purchases are flat screen, older and bigger TV’s have been rendered obsolete after the last wave of new technology hit. What many people fail to realize is that these flat screen TV’s consume more energy than an entire refrigerator. Part of this reason is that there has in fact been energy regulation for appliances like refrigerators and washing machines. Nowadays these appliance are often twice as efficient as they were before. Of course electronics like TV’s and computers; the largest portion of the gadget sector fail to regulated, leading to massive spikes in energy consumption and therefore pollution.
The good news is that there are countless ways that you can help conserve energy in your household. Start by turning off whatever you are not using.
I myself am a culprit in this sense. I almost never turn off my laptop when I stop using it, I’ll either leave it on or put it on standby. Oftentimes I’ll do this because I don’t want to go through the hassle or waste the time that it takes for my computer to start and load up. I am not the only one who does that, in fact most families will leave their computers on all the time. This means that even when a family is sleeping, their computer is still consuming tons of energy. Of course this goes with TV’s as well. Many of us leave our TV’s on all the time. I will oftentimes leave my TV on in the background while I am working on my laptop. I will not even be fully paying attention to the TV, but the TV will continue to use maximum energy.
Apart from making sure that when we are not using an appliance that we turn it off, there are also many other smart things that we can do to conserve energy. A new wave of technology has provided us with a “smart power strip outlets” that will automatically turn off if nobody is using any of the electronics attached to it. Waiting until your electronic device is almost out of batteries to recharge it is also ideal. Oftentimes we will charge our laptop, Ipod or cellphone every day instead of waiting until the battery is almost dead. Waiting until the battery is almost dead will not only help conserve energy, it will also help save your battery from dying, because if you charge your battery before it is fully drained, the battery itself will be damaged.
By taking these ideas and putting them into your daily routine you will find that everyone will come out a winner. Of course the environment will benefit greatly from these power saving techniques. By consuming less energy, power plants will be able to produce less energy and therefore there will be less pollution released into the environment. Of course by following these energy saving techniques you will be using less energy, which will in turn lead to smaller energy bills in your household. By saving money you become a winner as well. Energy efficient is simple and easy. It doesn’t take any extra effort and in the end it will end up benefiting you and the environment. Saving energy is as easy as a click, now it’s up to you to click that button.
(All pictures are credited to Yahoo Green)
By Stephan Popescu
Blog Writer 2009-2010, Change Tomorrow’s World
