Copenhagen Calling

Most of us would say yes, and there are lots of solid arguments to support
that. But I am not too sure. I was attending a sleek demonstration on
videoconferencing last week in a modern glass building in Gurgaon. I was being
told that how videoconferencing has helped reduce travel bills for many
companies. When I came out of the building, I saw a chimney belching out
smokefrom the generator I am sure. I could not help but smile.

My argument is twofold. First, to make the world a seamlessly connected
global village, where everythingpeople, organizations and governmentsare
electronically connected, so much infrastructure will have to be deployed that
it is not funny. It will be far more than the electricity produced today.
Therefore, fossil fuels will be needed to run those thousands of cellphone
towers, the data centers, the telecom exchanges, the networks, and citizen
service centers. And the way the digital world is offering newer services
everyday, the need for a bigger IT and communications infrastructure will only
grow in leaps and bounds.

Today it is not IT and communications that are the big contributors to global
warming. But my guess is that in the years to come, IT and communications will
become the big culprit ruining the world. It is, therefore, critical that this
industry takes the lead in all efforts and projects for generating alternate
energy. Just like the universal service obligation on telecom operators, there
could be some fund that the government can set up, where automobile makers, IT
and telecom manufacturers, and anybody who will be a big consumer of
electricity, contribute.

My second argument is that a global village means that I might not have to
travel to meet someone in some far off country. I might meet them on a real-life
high definition videoconference, and therefore, avoid air and car travel that
adds to pollution. But if that someone lives in small towns and not exposed to
malls and fancy cars, a global village will expose him to all these. And
aspirations and demand will go up.

A digital world of a global village will allow lots of information and news
to be shared easily, instantly, and with sensation, glamor, and excitement. It
will lead to a huge surge in demand for everything. The world will need to build
more cars, and malls, which will create more pollution. So on one hand, there
will be lesser number of jets polluting the skies because of videoconferencing.
But then on the other hand, more people will want to travel to exotic holiday
destinations, and own fancy cars, because they have seen them on televison and
the Internet.

A tricky situation, isnt it? Cutting demand will not be possible. Exploring
alternate sources of energy is the only solution. And IT and telecom will be big
stakeholders.

Ibrahim Ahmad

ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in