Matthew McDermott
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A recent article in the New York Times got me thinking, is there really an ecological imperative to play more board games? Considering my not-so-secret Scrabble® addiction (as I'm sure many Planet Green readers harbor as well...) I want to think so. And now have some facts to back that up.
The NYT points out that back in 1980 each American household had an average of just three consumer electronic products; now that's up to 25 per household. All of which adds up to serious power consumption.
Consumer Electronics = 15% of Household Energy Demand
Worldwide, these gadgets now amount to 15% of household power demand; and over the next 20 years the IEA says the equivalent of 560 coal-fired power plants will be required to satisfy the tripling in power needed to keep all these gizmos going.
The Power of San Diego?!?...
There is a board game connection coming I promise you... 40% of American houses have video game consoles, and the NRDC has calculated that altogether they use as much electricity as the city of San Diego.
Board Games Need No Power, Last Decades
Compare those to good old-fashioned board games: My Scrabble set is over 30 years old and was handed down from some family member who had it since I was a little child. In fact it's so old that the tiles are different than the ones produced today -- I know because you can still get them and when you get replacements for ones that you've lost, you're asked which version you have. And receive a little bit of a chuckle from the person on the other end of the phone when they find out 'you have what edition?'
Now the box is a little tattered at the edges, but this game and countless board games like it require: 1) no electric power; 2) are made (mostly) from renewable resources that will biodegrade; and, 3) stay current long after the de facto planned obsolescence of video game consoles.
Fair enough, it's a much different experience to sit down and try to come up with two letter words using only vowels, words beginning in Q without using a U, and hit triple word scores going in two directions, than it is playing your average video game.
But I'd argue, that though it may be a smallish step in the scheme of greening your life, consider that San Diego stat again and weigh it against your entertainment: The power consumption of the ninth-largest city in the US is required to keep everyone first-person shooting. How much power is needed to keep everyone putting down 'Qat' or 'Aas'?
More on Green Games:
Green Board-Game Maker Tries to Bring Home Forbes' Business-Boosting Cash
Could Board Games Challenge Television in a Carbon-Conscious World?
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