Does liking technology mean hating the world?

So, it's Earth Day today, apparently. To honour it, I've been tweeting from my laptop while using my PS3 on a 40" TV and charging my phone, all at once. Again.

It's ironic that the rise of consumer technology has come about at the exact same time as the eco-revolution.

At one time in the mid-noughties it was estimated that computers took 12% of all the world's electricity useage. While it may sound fairly small, that figure means that for all the lights, shops, factories,businesses and heating systems in the world, computers still took this huge chunk of power just for Liking biscuits on facebook and watching iPlayer.

For the average tech junkie, you'll probably find any of the following running all at once in one room: a TV, games console, smartphone charger, laptop/PC, iPod/mp3 player, stereo, wireless box, freeview/Sky box. My living room is beginning to resemble the NASA launch centre.

And these are thirsty, thirsty bits of kit. An Xbox 360 will use 1000w of electricity every four hours; a PS3 every three. And while I don't know how much my HTC smartphone needs in juice, I do know it takes longer to charge fully than it does to run flat again.

Surely, then, you can only be a technology fan if you hate the environment, don't believe in global warming, don't care or all of the above.

Well, to a degree. But it isn't our fault.

Yes, we can try to do our bit. We can use rechargeable batteries, we can put our laptops on 'Power Save' mode and we can dim the telly. But there is so little information out there about how much power our tech actually needs that it's difficult to even think about it, let alone act.

I only know how much a PS3 uses because some time-rich anorak plugged it in to a watt-measurement device and put the results online. I certainly don't know how much an iPod, or a TV, or my laptop uses, but I'm sure it's a fair chunk.

Why don't I know? My computer lists endless, incomprehensible features on its side, like 'up to 1308 MB DVMT' (I don't know what this means) as well as listing its green credentials - 'Energy Star Approved' (I do know that this doesn't mean much, since it's on almost every electrical product ever), but nowhere does it say how much electricity it uses.

In these eco-conscious times, green transparency, so to speak, is long overdue. It's high time companies like Sony, Samsung and Apple started listing how much power items need right on the box.

Why is it only washing machines that are energy rated? Computers, TVs, phones and games consoles should be marked from A* to F, too.

Not everyone will notice, not everyone will care. But at least we'd all have the option to make the green choice. It's certainly better than buying ever more powerful devices and wondering why our electricity bills are through the (poorly-insulated) roof.

I could go on, but I'm going to use my last sliver of laptop battery to watch the ice caps melt on YouTube.