Currys and Dixons electical retailers were selling a flat-screen television every 15 seconds in the build-up to the Football World Cup, and have subsequently dropped prices to maintain this selling rate. But scientist Dr Joseph Reger, chief technology officer at Fujitsu Siemens Computers in Munich, now warns that the British desire to see the big picture is threatening the planet. In fact, if half of British homes bought a plasma-screen TV, two nuclear power stations would have to be built to meet the extra energy demand.
Plasma sets can use up to four times more electricity than old-style cathode-ray tube models. And when you add the set-top boxes, digital video recorders, and DVD players that are pretty much the norm these days, most households are very real contributors to the energy crisis.
The government recently called 11 electrical retailers to a summit at 11 Downing Street to discuss what could be done about cutting greenhouse gas emissions caused by household electronics and appliances. Gordon Brown’s last Budget provided for an initiative for retailers to sell energy-efficient goods by 2010.
Source: Guardian online