But...the internet could save the day?

Following the report from the Global Action Plan, we were sent to EcoGeek to check out Hank’s blog on how the internet will end up saving billions of tons of carbon.

Greenbang loves EcoGeek – in the same way you love a TV hero from childhood. Not like a marriage kind of way…

Anyway – this is what they said:

“A new report from the American Consumer Institute has calculated the current and future effects that broadband Internet will have on our carbon emissions. The resulting numbers are staggering. In the next 10 years, ACI reports that the world will save roughly 1 BILLION tons of carbon in the next ten years by operating on the Internet.

The trends break down like this:

• E-Commerce will reduce emissions by 200 M tons
• Telecommuting will prevent 250 tons of carbon emissions from reduced driving, 30 tons from reduced office construction and 300 tons of energy savings
• Teleconferencing could prevent 200 M tons of carbon emissions (if it replaces 10% of face-to-face meetings.)
• Shifting newspaper from print to digital could save 60 M tons of carbon
• Digitally shipping other goods, such as music, movies and books would also contribute.

Trouble is – we heard this sort of promise when people said computers would lead to a ‘paperless’ office…