Bill Gates Uses 10,000 Times the Energy of the Average American
Some Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students have begun to track the carbon footprint of different lifestyles in different nations. As you may have guessed, Americans don't fare too well. Apparently, even the most power conscious yankees use at least twice the energy of the average person around the world. There is a oft-cited statistic that says if the entire globe used power like we do, we'd need five Earths to compensate for it. MIT Professor of Mechanical Engineering Timothy Gutowski says, "Regardless of income, there is a certain floor below which the individual carbon footprint of a person in the U.S. will not drop."
Because carbon footprint impact tends to rise with income, it may come as no surprise that the worst carbon criminals are the super-rich -- Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey are specifically named. Perhaps more remarkable, however, are the numbers: the MIT folks estimated Bill Gates' impact at 10,000 times the national average.
Bill, dude, easy on the AC, okay? We know it's hot. [Source: TG Daily]
Filed under: Computers, Green Tech
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
D-Nice @ Apr 29th 2008 10:55AM
Must be all those computers in his house using Vista. I was wondering, do you think he has at least one Mac in his house? He has to have at least one.
kastonie @ Apr 29th 2008 1:27PM
"Yankees use at least twice the energy of the average person around the world"
damn you derek jeter!
VTPPGLVR @ Apr 29th 2008 2:16PM
You'd think these rich snobs could afford the expensive eco technology! Wealth is no excuse for a larger carbon footprint; it is a mandate for them to reduce their own carbon footprint, and an invitation to help others reduce their carbon footprints (who otherwise could not afford to do so alone).
spriry92 @ May 5th 2008 4:18PM
Yeah he should have one to see if there is anything that he might see to add to windows.and i also guess he has his own OS better than vista