PARIS — Charge your iPod, kill a polar bear? The choice might not be quite that stark, but an energy watchdog is alarmed about the threat to the environment from the soaring electricity needs of gadgets such as MP3 players, mobile phones and flat-screen television sets.
In a report Wednesday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency estimates new electronic gadgets will triple their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours, the equivalent of today’s home electricity consumption of the United States and Japan combined.
The world would have to build about 200 new nuclear power plants just to power all the gadgets expected to be plugged in by 2030, when the global electric bill to power them will rise to $200 billion a year, the IEA said. Electronics already account for about 15 percent of household electric consumption — to the tune of $80 billion.
Most of the increase in consumer electronics will be in developing countries, where economic growth is fastest, said Paul Waide, a senior policy analyst at the IEA.
“This will jeopardize efforts to increase energy security and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases” blamed for global warming, the agency said. The Associated Press; AP photo
