Speaking at the 'Chartered Institute of Housing's' south-west Conference in Torquay, TV presenter Dick Strawbridge has said that you don't need to give up broadband in order to be environmentally friendly:


The Web-User item may come as a welcome relief to some eco-friendly surfers, although that doesn't mean to say computers and Internet access aren't energy hungry. Indeed the notion of broadband as being "always-on", even when you're not using it, may not be helpful.

Unfortunately, especially in the case of BT's ADSL MAX (8Mbps) technology, using your connection like a dialup modem (frequently connecting and disconnection based on need) can cause service speeds to lower.

Meanwhile the main power hog in any setup is usually the computer itself, which isn't so easy to change, especially when some modern hardware consumes more and not less energy.