Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Treadmill Of Information: Development Of The Information Society And Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Joseph M. Simpson, Riley E. Dunlap, Andrew S. Fullerton

Sociology Faculty Publications

The world is facing a crisis of global warming due to the release of CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses by human activities. Many scholars and stakeholders argue that information and communication technology (ICT) development will mitigate CO₂ emissions. Advocacy of technological solutions to CO₂ mitigation is consistent with ecological modernization theory's assertion that reflexive societies will modernize sustainably. In contrast, we define the “treadmill of information” as the unique contribution of ICT development to environmental degradation. We examine the impact of ICT development on total CO₂ emissions and source-sector emissions from electricity, buildings, manufacturing, and transportation …