This in-depth report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the US government provides detailed data on energy use of electronic equipment as well as use frequency and standby consumption. The major consumer electronics in U.S. homes accounted for over 10% of U.S. residential electricity consumption in 1999, which is comparable to the electricity consumed by refrigerators or lighting. The results of this study are astounding: Consumer electronics consumed 113 TWh in the U.S. in 1999, over 60% of which was consumed while the products were not in use…. Consumer
weblink: Energy Report • from: Lawrence berkeley National Laboratory • in detail • see also: Phantom Load XlnkS5A4 XlnkC18AC

Paper # 158 by the Worldwatch Institute In the 1990s, natural catastrophes like hurricanes, floods, and fires caused over $608 billion in economic losses worldwide, an amount greater than during the previous four decades combined. But a growing share of this devastation is not natural at all: the effects of a disaster are magnified by ecologically destructive practices, like degrading forests, engineering rivers, filling in wetlands, and destabilizing the climate. And at the same time, continuing human migration to cities and coastal areas is putting more and more people and infrastructure at risk. The projected effects of climate change and sea level rise can only heighten coastal risks. Over 2 billion people were affected by disasters in the last decade. More people are now displaced by disasters than by conflict. And the economic losses are especially devastating to poor countries, where the losses often represent a large share of the national economy. Losses there are often uninsured. Disaster mitigation is a very attractive investment; on average every $1 invested in disaster preparedness saves $7 in disaster recovery costs. But investing in mitigation requires governments and communities to give up politically expedient short-term thinking and plan for the long term.
weblink: Order the paper • from: World Watch Institute • in detail XlnkS512 XlnkC17DD

The report of the US National Academy of Sciences on Climate Change. Basically, a team of well-renowned US academics and scientists assess the validity of the IPCC report 2001. This study originated from a White House request to help inform the Administration’s ongoing review of U.S. climate change policy. The objective was to identify the areas in the science of climate change where there are the greatest certainties and uncertainties, and views on whether there are any substantive discrepancies in the IPCC Reports In general, the NAS team agree with the scientific findings of the IPCC report
weblink: NAS Climate Change page • from: National Academy of Sciences • in detail XlnkS4F9 XlnkC185C