The Consumer Electronics Show Gets Greener

January 8, 2009 RSS Feed Print
  • Comment (1)

This year's Consumer Electronics Show is the greenest it has ever been. So far:

--The "Greener Gadgets Tech Zone" of the Las Vegas convention has grown to 3,000 square feet this year, from 520 square feet last year.

--On the heels of MacWorld's green battery news this week, Toshiba has announced that they have developed a more sustainable, longer-lasting battery.

--A presentation from the Consumer Electronics Association discussed the trend of gadgets going green:

The authors found that 64% of consumers say recyclability is a factor for them in purchasing a PC. However, the authors also found that 40% of consumers say they’re not really sure what makes one computer more green than another. Interestingly, gender slanted 45% to 35% female to male, which the authors attributed to women’s connection with mother Earth, or some such stuff.

[Rolling my eyes. Way to stereotype, CEA.]

--Last year's CES reportedly spent $110,000 on carbon offsets last year. This year's show is spending as much on other green aspects, but is foregoing the carbon offsets - a product of tough economic times.

--LG Electronics is "setting records" with the efficiency of its new flat-screen TVs, which use 50% less power than the average TV.

--Samsung is also jumping on board, with a more efficient TV. They'll need to if they want to be able to sell TVs in California stores in a few years.

--Motorola has launched a carbon neutral cell phone, teaming up with Carbonfund.org to offset the emissions of manufacturing, distributing and operating the phone.

--Crunch Gear thinks that this year's green elements of the show are a passing fad:

Even if they offset their carbon credits with the good wood elves of Sylvan Glade, this is still a phone and it will still end up in a filthy landfill picked over by the poorest of the poor in rural China. Once everyone figures out that they can sell a few carbon credits to get the “Carbon Neutral” seal of approval on their box, they’ll hop on the bandwagon.

 

Tags:
technology,
environment

Reader Comments Read all comments (1)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Want to know more about which consumer electronics companies are green, and which are greenwashing? Check out Vanno's Company Reputation Index: http://vanno.com/welcome/Eco-Electronics

NickD of CA 10:07AM January 11, 2009

Fresh Greens

Maura Judkis is a producer at U.S. News. She writes about the green movement and looks for ways to be an ecofriendly consumer without breaking the bank. Send her your green tips.

advertisement

advertisement