Consumers’ love of hi-tech gadgets is set to undermine attempts to curb the UK’s carbon emissions, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) claimed today.

The proliferation of home entertainment equipment such as flatscreen TVs, digital radios and laptops in homes means that by 2020 this type of technology will account for 45% of domestic electricity use.

This means 14 power stations will be required just to power equipment used for communication and entertainment, the «www.energysavingtrust.org.uk» said in its report the Ampere Strikes Back.

The growth in energy use is a result of changing lifestyles, which means there are more households in the UK, and the demands of new equipment, which tend to be more energy intensive than older products, contrary to the belief of 54% of those questioned.

The running cost of today’s plasma and LCD screen TVs can be as much as three times that of traditional cathode ray tube sets. The largest domestic plasma TV on the market - with a massive 103in screen - has a power rating of 1.5kw, which means watching it uses as much energy as leaving 25 lightbulbs on.

In addition, rather than disposing of old TVs and DVD players consumers are moving them into other rooms in the house where they may be used at the same time as the new equipment.

“Products are being used in ways that were undreamt of just a few years ago,” said Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the EST.

“With trends such as listening to the radio through TV and PC on the increase, it’s highly unlikely that consumers realise that this uses far more energy than conventional means, or that some digital radios use almost as much energy when considered switched off at the unit as they do while switched on, while a new flat panel TV can use up to three times more electricity than a ‘traditional’ TV.”

Mr Sellwood urged consumers to think about their energy use and turn off equipment that was not needed, and to rein in their impulse to hoard unwanted items.

“By being more ’switched on’ with our appliances the average household could save 37 a year through avoided standby use alone, and some of the 2020 energy burden projections could be curbed,” he added.

UK consumers spend more than 12bn a year on home IT and electronics, the EST said - more than anyone else in Europe.

The average household spends 500 a year on such goods, and by 2020 the running costs across the UK could total more than 4bn a year - 607m of which will be spent on leaving items on standby.

A spokesman for the «www.defra.gov.uk» (Defra) said the government was working with manufacturers and retailers to make products more energy efficient.

He added that Defra’s recently launched «www.direct.gov.uk» would help individuals and families to work out how their home appliances contribute to their carbon footprint.

Northwest Exits Bankruptcy; But Don’t Expect More Leg Room Northwest is the Last of the Major U.S. Airlines to Emerge From Bankruptcy By JOSHUA FREED The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS

Northwest Airlines departed bankruptcy protection on Thursday, capping a 20-month reorganization aimed at making the nation’s fifth-largest carrier competitive for years to come.

Northwest shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning, with CEO Doug Steenland and other employees ringing the opening bell, marking the end of a wave of airline bankruptcies that began after the Sept. 11 attacks. The shares traded at $25.25 after being offered to unsecured creditors at $27.

Northwest has slashed debt by $4.2 billion, cut $400 million a year in the cost of its fleet, and trimmed unprofitable routes. It also cut $1.4 billion a year in labor costs.

The result is a slightly smaller, more efficient airline with some of the lowest costs among the major carriers.

Like the rest of the airline industry, Northwest has been on a roller coaster the past decade.

On Sept. 10, 2001, the airline industry was coming off the 1990s economic boom, as business travel rose and fuel prices stayed low. U.S. airlines raked in around $5 billion a year in profits from 1997 through 1999 and almost $2.5 billion in 2000, according to government statistics compiled by the Air Transport Association.

But Sept. 11, the slowing economy, and the run-up to the Iraq war hurt business travel, and rising fuel prices hurt airline profitability.

Northwest was also hurt by the SARS scare in Asia, where it and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines are the two largest U.S. carriers. Eagan-based Northwest and Delta Air Lines Inc. both filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 14, 2005, putting four of the nation’s seven largest carriers into Chapter 11.

At the end of 2005, Northwest’s costs were higher than every other airline except U.S. Airways Group Inc., according to government figures. By the end of 2006, when most of the airline restructuring was finished, Northwest’s costs were lower than those at U.S. Airways, Delta, and Continental Airlines Inc., though still higher than costs at AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and arch-competitor United.

One advantage Northwest will have is that its new labor contracts lock workers into lower pay rates and more company-friendly work rules through the end of 2011, longer than any of its U.S. competitors.

Flight attendants, for instance, now see their pay top out at about $35,400 a year, down from $44,190 before Northwest filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the union.

Joshua Freed can be reached at jfreed(at)ap.org

Moving Back in With Mom and Dad Parents and Their ‘Boomerang’ Kids Grapple With House Rules, Sexual Tensions By MARK ARSENAULT

July 5, 2007

Eric Tracey fled the nest when he was 18 — moving out of his parent’s home to start college. He even took a job as a summer school resident assistant, “so I didn’t have to come back and live at home,” he says.

Through his early 20s, he roomed with his buddies in different apartments, splitting the cost of living four ways. But last February, nearly eight years after moving out, his relationship with a live-in girlfriend ended. Eric needed an affordable place to stay while putting himself through graduate school on his salary as a special education teacher.

So at age 26, he joined millions of other “boomerang” offspring, showing up at his parents’ house with his belongings packed in his car, and nestling in back home.

“I brought my stuff upstairs and realized I haven’t cleaned my room in eight years,” Eric deadpans.

U.S. Census Bureau numbers suggest that “boomeranging” is not a new trend; it’s a way of life.

In 2003, about 13.5 percent of young males ages 25 to 34 lived at home, according to the census. That’s about the same percentage as in 1983. (The Census doesn’t differentiate between boomerang kids and those who never left home.) For women in the same age group, about 7 percent lived at home in 2003.

The percentage hasn’t fluctuated by more than a few points since the 1960 census.

“This is the new normal,” says Linda Perlman Gordon, a family therapist from Chevy Chase, Md., and co-author of the book “Mom, Can I Move Back in with You?: A Survival Guide for Parents of Twentysomethings.” Sixty-six percent of new college graduates expect to move back home, she says.

Parents aren’t surprised, either, to see their adult kid pull into the driveway in a car crammed with everything the kid owns. In a 2004 survey conducted by Harris Interactive, 40 percent of baby boomers said they either had an adult child move back, or expected to have one.

Money Is Key

Migrations back to the nest are frequently tied to economics — life alone is expensive.

After leaving college with an average of $20,000 in student loans, a young graduate’s employment prospects are often low-paying, entry-level jobs or resume-building internships, Gordon says.

Money was key in Eric Tracey’s decision to move back home. When he decided to enroll in graduate school to earn a master’s degree in special education, “I just wasn’t going to be able to pay for living by myself in an apartment,” the Rhode Island resident said. “I’m going to spend the money on school. Who needs more loans? I’d rather pay for school right off the bat.”

The adjustment has gone reasonably well, he says. “My parents are pretty cool. I don’t have to check in with them. They don’t worry about what time I go out or when I come in.”

Eric gets up early for his teaching job. He has learned to be quiet so he doesn’t wake anyone.

“When I come back after school, I have to do my work. But Mom and Dad want to talk to me, the TV’s going, there’s stuff happening in the kitchen. The only adjustment has been getting over the noises and getting used to the family interaction again.

“I can’t sneak up to my room because the computer resources I need are in one area of the house. But I know I’m welcome here, so that’s helpful. I know with some people that might not happen.”

Parental Perspective

His parents, Doreen, 49, and Kevin, 51, enjoy having their son around. Doreen says, “I’m happy to have him here, definitely. He’s company. He keeps us company.”

She cooks more with Eric home, and spends more time — and money — at the grocery store.

“We go through a lot of milk now. Before, I was buying a quart of milk a week, which sometimes lasted two weeks. Now we’re up to two gallons a week! It’s so weird.”

Her son “cuts the lawn, goes to the dump, does stuff around the house,” she says.

“He doesn’t do housework, believe me. But he does the outside stuff. I never have to ask him to do anything.” Meanwhile, Eric is getting excellent grades in school. “Better than he ever got before. So it’s working for him.”

Not every trip back to the nest goes as well.

Tips to Smooth the Move

Gordon’s suggestions:

“This is a perfect time to do the last part of parenting,” she advises. “You’re not the boss, you’re the coach.” Act as a sounding board for your adult child; help him or her see different perspectives before they make their own decisions.

Have clear expectations from the beginning of the move. Will you charge rent? Will chores be shared? Not every parent collects rent, Gordon says. “Is your kid doing an unpaid internship? Where would that kid get the money for rent?”

Eric’s parents don’t charge for anything, he says. But he pays the cable bill because he needs broadband Internet for his job and for school. And he bought himself a big new bed, “because the twin size is not going to cut it.”

Gordon advises parents: Don’t fall back into your old habits when a child moves home. You don’t have to be responsible anymore for making sure your offspring has a hot, nutritious meal every night.

It’s OK if you’re the parent to set boundaries — it’s your house. If you want a propertywide ban on hip-hop after 10 p.m., then make it so.

Um …: and what about sex?

“That’s an easy one,” Gordon says. “You have every right to have your child respect your value system. If you’re uncomfortable or you have younger kids still at home, your adult child usually will understand. If you’re comfortable because your child is in a committed relationship, then that’s your business.”

Eric Tracey has weighed the trade-off between money and his dating life. “I find myself leaning more toward the financial end of it,” he says. “I like living here, but at the same time I do want to get more independent. Obviously, I can’t have a girlfriend over, so that’s hurting the relationship aspect of life.”

He laughs.

“If I do meet anyone, as soon as they say they have a place of their own, I say, ‘Whew — crossed that hurdle.’ ”

There have been no intrafamily blowups since Eric moved home, but sometimes he longs for his own place. “Anytime I come home and I’m trying to get work done and the TV is blasting, I think, ‘I have just one more year, and I can get out and do my own thing.’ ”

For his parents, a kid in the nest hasn’t hurt their social life one bit. “Sometimes we’re in later than him,” Doreen says with a laugh. “We’ve already been empty nesters. Now we’re going back the other way. I was ready for grandchildren, but instead I got my son back.”