An EcoGeek at CES: O! The Contradictions!  E-mail
Written by Matt James   
Wednesday, 09 January 2008

Las Vegas is full of strange contradictions. I chuckle to myself every time I pass the little placard by the door that says "Please Conserve Energy - remember to turn off the lights when you leave." You see, I'm staying at the Luxor, which is topped by a cluster of 39 Xenon lights, putting out 30.2 billion lumens and drawing 273 kilowatts... and all it's doing is pointing straight up into the night sky. It is some consolation that the carbon from my hotel stay is being offset by the Consumer Electronics Association, but not much. To take my mind off all this I rode a driverless electric monorail to the show this morning... over a sea of Hummer limousines and idling taxicabs. Oh well : )

I'm meeting a lot of industry execs who are engaged and excited to be moving their companies towards a greener, more sustainable future. Titles like "Vice President in Charge of Sustainability" and "Director of Environmental Concerns" are common at the panels I've been attending, and these aren't people in the marketing department - they're managing waste streams and improving efficiencies. What I've been hearing again and again is that this is coming from the consumers - companies are literally embracing green tech and sustainability in order to compete in the marketplace, and are afraid of going out of business if they don't.

We'll have some interviews with industry leaders and government officials up soon, as well as some with the interesting people drawn to the Dell ReGeneration booth, so keep checking back for updates!

Comments (1)add
One can only hope...
written by Christian , January 09, 2008
...that these aspirations are really sincere and are not only part of some marketing ploy. In Germany, several coal plant companies have started buying offsets and then selling their coal-generated electricity as "green power". Surly, a lot of companies want to bee seen as "green" and "eco-friendly" these days - because it helps their standing with the customers. Hopefully this is incentive enough to be sincere about going green.
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Matt James
About the author:
Matt James is a freelance writer, artist and mechanic living in Dayton, Ohio. He enjoys working on and driving his BioDiesel Jetta, and maintains a vegetarian lifestyle. He is currently working with The Circus Creativity Collective, a non-profit group dedicated to attracting and retaining creative people in Dayton, and foster creative expression. A member of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission meditation group, he travels frequently to India to study under his guru, Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari.
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