That's not 'green,' dammit!

摘要

I was recently reading a speech by a senior executive at an e-company who extolled the use of more energy efficient LEDs in cell phones as a way to make them greener, while at the same time allowing them to take on more functionality and thereby increase their attractiveness to consumers. It must have been a low point in my bio-rhythms cycle, because I got hopping mad! It's true that LEDs are a much more energy efficient light source than other alternatives, as several of the articles in this issue make technically obvious. But sticking an LED on a product doesn't make it "green," even if it is more energy efficient. In the case envisioned by the e-exec-utive, any gain in energy efficiency would be taken up by extra functionality, and so there is no net energy savings for the device.