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The Interdependency of Energy, Information, and Growth

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ICT Innovations for Sustainability

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 310))

Abstract

This contribution is based on the talk I gave at the conference on ICT for Sustainability, February 14–16, ETH Zürich [1], in which I reopened the discussion on the impact of ICT on energy consumption [2]. The chapter has four sections. The introduction connects my topic to the conference theme. In part two, I discuss energy conservation; the mutual substitutability of energy, time and information; and some fundamental aspects of the nature of these three quantities. In the third part I present two empirical case studies of this mutual substitutability. Finally, in the fourth section, I conclude by speculating on what these results may mean in term of ICT’s effects on sustainability, mindful of the role of time and of economic growth in this interaction.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The assessment was done by a multi-disciplinary team including F. Varone, B. Aebischer, W. Eichhammer, E. Gruber, St. Kuhlmann, D. von Wichert-Nick and is described in [7].

References

  1. Spreng, D.: Interactions between energy, information and growth. In: Hilty, L.M., Aebischer, B., Andersson, G., Lohmann, W. (eds.) ICT4S 2013: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainability, ETH Zurich, Feb 14–16, pp. 6–7. E-Collection ETH Institutional Repository (2013). ISBN:978-3-906031-24-8, doi:10.3929/ethz-a-007337628, 288–300

  2. Spreng, D.: Does IT have boundless influence on energy consumption? In: Hilty, L.M., Gilgen, P.W. (eds.) Sustainability in the Information Society—15th International Symposium Informatics for Environmental Protection, pp. 81–90. Metropolis Verlag, Marburg (2001). ISBN:3-89518-370-9

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  3. Kemmler, A., Spreng, D.: Energy indicators for tracking sustainability in developing countries. Energy Policy 35, 2466–2480 (2007)

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  4. Spreng, D.: Distribution of energy consumption and the 2,000 W/capita target. Energy Policy 33, 1905–1911 (2005)

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  5. Spreng, D.: Possibility for substitution between energy, time and information. Energy Policy 21(1), 13–23 (1993)

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  6. Spreng, D., Hediger, W.: Energiebedarf der Informationsgesellschaft. Verlag der Fachvereine Zürich (1987)

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  7. Spreng, D.: Technology assessment: impact of high-tech engineering research on energy consumption. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang. 69, 819–831 (2002)

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Correspondence to Daniel Spreng .

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Spreng, D. (2015). The Interdependency of Energy, Information, and Growth. In: Hilty, L., Aebischer, B. (eds) ICT Innovations for Sustainability. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 310. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09228-7_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09228-7_25

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09227-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-09228-7

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