Two for one deal: Telecom can save billions while reducing energy consumption

Putting America and the rest of the world back on economic sound footing could save money and reduce carbon emissions. How could that be? The answer lies in Moore's law. Moore predicted the number of transistors in an integrated circuit would double about every two years. That law has held up for more than four decades. That's why laptops, mobile phones and other devices improve in performance while dropping in price. One answer to the current economic troubles is to extend Moore's law and its ability to cut costs and boost performance into new areas. Achieving energy-efficiency by applying communications and information technologies could save $950 billion on energy over the next 12 years, according to a McKinsey & Company analysis in the Smart 2020 report, commissioned by the Global eSustainability Initiative. Those energy savings would reduce carbon emissions by 7.8 billion metric tons. The report foresees a different world, where more people work from home and networked information systems reduce energy usage.