The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) is warning the technology industry that the amount of power consumed by household electronics and communications gear could double by the year 2022 and triple by the year 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours—basically equivalent to the entire residential electricity consumption in the United States and Japan today. The increased electricity consumption fueled by consumer electronics, of course, places greater demand on energy generation systems, which in turn increases carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses, accelerating human-induced global climate change.
