How Green was CES This Year?
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.11.08
This year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has been big news this week; if you've been reading the non-stop coverage from Gizmodo or Engadget, or checking out the wrap-ups by Wired or DVICE, you know that there's been some pretty big-time announcements, debuts and demos. From 150-inch HDTVs to the triumph of Blu-Ray, the hits have been coming fast and furious; among all the noise, "green tech" and the environment was one of the big themes running through the conference this year. But how do you reconcile 150 inches -- that's 12.5 feet! -- of energy-sucking television with the notion of going green?
That's what NPR was wondering; after all, 15 - 20% of a typical home's energy use these days comes from electronic gadgets, and a 50-inch plasma TV uses as much as refrigerator, though manufacturers of these beasts still tout them as "green." They got a lot of marketing double-speak about "more energy-efficient" huge televisions, along with more genuinely green gadgets -- Voltaic's new solar-powered, laptop-charging bag, for example -- and efforts to green the conference as a whole: electronic press packets (instead of paper), biodegradable utensils and so forth. The verdict, then? Greener than before, for sure, but it's not quite time to anoint CES as a "green" event just yet. What do you think? via ::NPR
Update: Stay tuned for more final thoughts from CES; TreeHugger John had an opportunity to chat with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA - the guys who put on CES) and will publish the interview and more final thoughts tomorrow.
I think its a little ridiculous, its a consumer electronics show, how green could you expect it to be? What is the necessity of a 50" Plasma vs. say a 30" LCD or similar size screen? These technologies are by and large unnecessary; aimed at those with money to burn: witness the several thousand dollar OLED's and the like. If one wants green technology, CES is hardly the place to go, where the only green of concern is the hue of cold hard cash.
I say lets give them a pat on the back for making the effort and realizing that green matters.
However we need to be vigilant and make sure we call out the posers. If we don't, even legitimate companies will look at the alternative and say "hey how come they're getting away w/ some marketing-speak?"
That ruins the party for everyone.
The whole idea that a consumer electronics event can be green is borderline ridiculous. Consumer electronics is all about getting people buy stuff they don't need, only to replace it in 12 months time with the newest, shiniest model. The real, genuine innovations are in sustainable design, and those hardly feature amongst the 150 inch plasma screens and willy waving contests.
I agree with One Square Foot people need to take a more positive outlook. Whats important to me is that green is in fashion, so dont mess that up by being pissy and acting all high and mighty. Screens are going to get bigger and yet power saving technologies such as OLED and LED are coming in the future. The solution is going to come from grenn technology, not convincing people to stop using there technology.