Games hurt the environment
2008-03-07 20:43
Hanover - "I don't care, we're all going to die anyway," says 17-year-old Christian, to laughs from his friends as they play video games at the CeBIT IT fair in Germany.
What he does not care about is the environmental impact of the games console he and his mates are playing in a giant exhibition hall crammed full of other teenagers playing the latest shoot-em-ups, driving games and the like.
Whereas many of the 5 500 exhibitors at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany like IBM and Deutsche Telekom have been at pains to trumpet their green credentials, in Hall 22 there is not a tree-hugger in sight.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer travelled to the fair to tell people how the world's largest software company was doing it's bit for the environment - but the company's Xbox games console was not mentioned once in this context.
Games consoles - of which 62 million were sold in last year - are the gas guzzlers of this industry, using huge amounts of energy to generate the necessary mind-blowing graphics and sounds.
Improvements have been made
This has not escaped the notice of Greenpeace, which was taking part in CeBIT for the first time, vowing to sort the "greenwash" from the genuine amid all the talk of green IT.
The environmental pressure group issued results of a survey comparing the green credentials of 37 products from 14 major brands, showing modest improvements regarding hazardous substances, energy efficiency and recyclability.
But Nintendo provided no data for the investigation on its Wii console, Micosoft said they had no information, and Sony's details on the PlayStation were "very late and very insufficient," Greenpeace campaigner Zeina Al-Hajj said.
"The industry has not at all looked at the environmental impact of the games console. The amount of energy they consume, especially the Xbox and the PlayStation, is massive. There is no evidence that they are acting," Al-Hajj said.
Greenpeace concedes that some improvements have been made, particularly by Nintendo with its Wii in terms of energy consumption and recyclability, but it says much more needs to be done.
A washing machine uses more energy
"This doesn't stop me gaming at all. The fun factor is very high and you think first about the fun factor of the games," says Sebastian, a 22-year-old soldier and gaming fanatic.
"Most people who play games don't really think at all of the environment, they think about the fun factor," he says.
Seventeen-year-old Geld from the Netherlands shrugs as the sound of music in the windowless hall pumps louder and louder.
"A washing machine uses more energy than a computer," he says, turning to get on with his game, fingers working madly on the buttons.