Plasmatic

Plasma televisions cause global warming!

Professor Paul Ekins, [co-director of the UK Energy Research Centre], who studies the economics of climate change, said taxing plasma screens would reflect their "greater climate change burden".

Plasma televisions, which are 50% bigger than their cathode-ray tube equivalents, consume about four times more energy, according to the government-funded Energy Saving Trust.

A cathode-ray tube TV costs about £25 per year to run and accounts for 100kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, whereas a plasma TV costs about £100 per year and accounts for 400kg of CO2.

I wonder what the carbon footprint of the UK Energy Research Centre might be? Bigger than all the plasma televisions in the country put together, I'd bet. And at least plasma TVs serve a useful purpose.

Personally, I don't even want one of the silly things, for several reasons: screen glare, extraordinary expense compared to alternatives, and fragility. It would appear, moreover, that I'm not alone.

In other words, market pressure will solve the good professor's problem, (well, it'll get rid of plasma TVs; he's obviously got some issues which market pressure can't solve). The plasma television is simply not a viable economic alternative to other television technologies such as DLP and LCD. Of course, folks like Prof. Ekins don't concern themselves with mundane things like market forces; they've a moral mandate to hijack.