While global leaders burn tons of carbon jetting off to meetings about how we can reduce our carbon output, back at home real work is getting done to protect the environment. Across the information technology economy a number of efforts are underway with a huge range of solutions to actually move toward a green economy.
In another irony, at the same time parts of Big Government are trying to seize control of greater portions of the economy using global warming as their foil, other government entities are discouraging technological advances that will preserve the environment.
AT&T recently released a paper entitled "SMART 2020: Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the Information Age." The report listed any number of ways that technology could be deployed to improve energy efficiency and lower costs. For example, using the latest "TelePresence" teleconferencing technology, enabling telecommuting, or deploying a fully robust "smart grid"--all of these will require advanced, managed networks.
Yet some Big Government advocates are working contrary to these goals. Advocates continue to urge the FCC to seize as much control over networks as possible, such as in a letter this week from FreePress. What would be the effect of such action? Less investment in infrastructure and improvements in the current network-network investments we need in order to enable the kinds of energy-saving technologies everyone agrees we need.
Everyone understands that broadband providers must have the flexibility to reasonably manage their networks, and everyone understands the importance of private sector investment for increasing broadband capacity to support increasingly sophisticated applications. Yet, in the name of consumer protection, some still urge government to regulate network management and operation, even though such regulations would be counterproductive to "greening" the US economy through enhanced networks.
Similarly, even while recognizing that mobile phones allow workers to keep in touch with the office without driving into the office, the IRS wants to tax the portion of employer provided mobile phones that might be attributable to personal use as income. And then why not wireless enabled laptops?
Innovation is the friend of energy efficiency. Our federal government should be rewarding such technological innovation, not punishing it.
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Today's TechByte was written by Bartlett D. Cleland, director of IPI Center for Technology Freedom.