Some thoughts about tv

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Unless you watch all your TV and movies on an iPod, it can be tricky buying a big screen without "big footing" the planet. A few questions to help you keep your eye on the big picture:

All else being equal, how do the three most common television screen technologies rank, from least to most energy intensive?LCD screens use the least energy (followed by plasma screens), and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) use the most.CRTs, plasma screens, and then LCDs.Plasma screens, LCDs, and then CRTs.Link Wray, then X-ray.

A plasma TV uses 30 percent more energy than the same size LCD version.TrueFalse

A CRT TV uses three times more energy than the same size LCD version.TrueFalse

An LCD TV always uses less energy than a CRT model.TrueFalse

What should you do with your old TV?Move it to another room in the house.Stash it in the garage.Toss it (gently) in the trash.Take it to a local recycling center qualified to handle electronics.

How much electricity is used each year in the U.S. watching TV?One percent of the nation's electrical production.The same as what's used to run and cool every computer server in the country.Roughly 47 billion kilowatt hours, which is enough juice to power all of Hong Kong for 18 months.All of the above.

How much of that power is consumed by TVs idling in standby mode?40 percent10 to 23 percentLess than one percent

Under federal law, TV broadcasters have to switch next year to digital-only signals. That means everyone with old analog TVs needs to upgrade.TrueFalse

Will the U.S. save energy once everyone eventually switches from CRTs to the latest LCD and plasma screens?ObviouslyProbably not

Bonus Question: When I get my new big screen TV, the first thing I want to watch is:Sierra Club Chronicles (http://www.sierraclub.org/tv)Planet EarthAn Inconvenient TruthThe Dukes of Hazzard (the movie, not the classic TV series!)

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