Number of gadgets to cause global power surge

The number of TVs, computers, iPods and other electronic devices in the home is expected to jump threefold by 2030 and will require the equivalent of 230 new nuclear reactors to keep them running, according to an international study calling on world governments to raise the bar on gadget efficiency. This year, the number of people using a personal computer worldwide will pass one billion and there are already nearly two billion television sets in use today. More than three billion people subscribe to a mobile phone service and the number of chargers for mobile devices is fast approaching six billion. And we're just getting going, argues the Paris-based International Energy Agency in a report released yesterday titled "Gadgets and Gigawatts."...Toronto Star