Russ Steele
We have heard a lot about going green California, but very little about the broadband options. We hear a lot about walking, biking and taking public transit, but in reality wide use of broadband for telecommuting and on line shopping can do more for the environment. The American Consumer Institute has the numbers. Faster file downloads and Web page loads can curb the annual flow of globe-warming gases while enhancing the economy.
According to the report:
• Telecommuting, a "zero emission" practice, eliminates office space and car commutes: 588 million tons.
• E-commerce cuts the need for warehouses and long-distance shipping: 206 million tons.
• Widespread teleconferencing could bring one-tenth of all flights to a halt: 200 million tons.
• Downloading music, movies, newspapers, and books saves packaging, paper, and shipping: 67 million tons.
You can read more about the report at in this C/Net article. Also you can down load a pdf the whole study here. I posted a report summary on the next page.
