Don't Standby to save electricity

(orig. posted 29 Nov 2006)

I read something recently about how much energy is wasted by
all the devices we have in the home being on "standby" mode.
This is where a trickle of electricity is always running through
the device so that it will start up quickly and save the time etc.

If it wastes so much energy why doesn't the government make
standby mode illegal ? Or - someone should make a more energy-
efficient standby mode.


The world really needs to stop pumping CO2 into the atmosphere.
There are suggestions that if big changes aren't made in the next
decade, that we may reach a "tipping point" at which time the
atmosphere will reach a point where it cannot recover from the
damage that we are doing to it. (It's much more technical than that
but I am too lazy to go into detail)
So we need to stop CO2 production, especially from coal-fired
power stations. A lot of people seem to think that the best solution
to this problem is to create a LOT of nuclear power stations.
Nuclear power would be a great solution if not for the fact that it
produces toxic nuclear waste that is radioactive for thousands of years.
Imagine if every country in the world was producing it ?
We would be up to our ears in radioactive waste !
What sort of a legacy is that for future generations ?

I don't think nuclear is the answer. I really don't feel that renewable energy
has been seriously investigated. I feel that it could supply all our energy needs.
All it needs is MASSIVE investment by governments or private industy.
Easy to get private industry involved - just create a global carbon tax.

John Howard is pushing for nuclear. Hopefully the opposition will develop a strong
vision of alternative energy future.
We will see...