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Which impacts?

• Direct (negative) impacts:• Energy in use• Embodied carbon from manufacture• Electronic waste• Materials use• Materials toxicity

Raw materials extraction

Manufacture Transport and

distribution

Use Disposal

Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy

Waste Waste WasteWasteWaste

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Which impacts?

• Indirect impacts:• Negative? Positive?• Media and communication technology enables other activities

e.g. teleconferencing to reduce business travel• Difficult to quantify

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Global picture

• 2% of Global emissions due to ICT ~ 800MtCO2e

• TVs and related peripherals ~700MtCO2e (~1.8% of global emissions)

• Compare with aviation ~2% global emissions

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Trends

• Rapid rise in the number of consumer electronics in the home• Each gadget had more functionality and higher power

consumption

• People have adapted their lifestyles to new more energy intensive behaviours, will be difficult to change later

• Using TVs for listening to radio and as electronic picture frames – very energy intensive

• More individual viewing

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Source: Energy Savings Trust

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Power consumption vs screen size of television sets

Source: IEA

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More information

Book recommendations:

‘Sustainable Energy - without the hot air’ by David JC MacKay

Available for free at http://www.withouthotair.com/

How bad are bananas? The carbon footprint of everything by Mike Berners-Lee