Invest in Tele-Everything

Posted on | September 24, 2008 |

There are as many ideas about how to reduce carbon emissions as there are people discussing it. Some favor passing laws that require no more gas-burning cars to be produced after a certain date (usually somewhere around 2020-2030), others say that we should bulk up the efficiency and funding of mass transportation, while still others claim that our salvation lay in ultra-localization, where people would purchase necessities like food from local sources, saving all the energy used during the shipping process.

I would argue that a simpler answer exists, and that we are already in the process of converting our way of life to this new system.

Carpooling has already made a significant dent in the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere every day, but telecommuting-people working from home and communicating over the phone and Internet with their home office-cuts the amount of carbon emissions drastically, as the vast majority of driving that takes place in a given day comes from people driving to and from work. If everyone were to telecommute one day a week, in a given work week each city would see a decrease of about 15-20% in emissions.

Now think of what would happen if the vast majority of people worked from home every day. The results would be drastic, and more significant than the near-immediate changes brought about by the Clean Air Act of 1963.

There are many arguments against making telecommuting the standard rather than the exception, as it is now, but these arguments can each be refuted if one takes a look at what’s happening in the economic and technological sectors of the United States today.

The first major argument is that telecommuting would allow and encourage employees to slack off. They would sit on the phone all day or surf for porn or update their Facebook page. There’s no one there able to look over their shoulder and tell them to get back to work.

This argument may have been true once, but it certainly isn’t any longer. Technology has advanced significantly enough to allow for very quick and cheap (and high quality) video conferencing, which would essentially allow managers to keep track of who is sitting at their computer, while screen-sharing software (which often comes bundled with video conferencing software) allows users to view each other’s screens. Further, setting up results-based systems have only ever been good for companies, and setting goals with ample positive reinforcement for success will end with more net profits for businesses.

The second major argument is that many jobs cannot be done from home. Teaching. Air-traffic control. Policing. While the argument may be true for mobile jobs like police officers, firefighters, taxi drivers, etc, it’s certainly not true for teachers, and perhaps even air-traffic controllers. Teachers at all levels of education can and have been successfully educating America’s young and old students for years, and if the practice became more common, the service would just get better and better, with increased interaction, more immediate access to technology, and an increased comfort level with computers (since students would be using them each and every day). Air-traffic controllers could also potentially work from home, granted that they are outfitted with ultra-high-speed Internet connections and plenty of security software.

Stemming from the last argument, many feel that there will be a great number of people losing jobs because of the sudden shift in national habits. Oil workers would start to lose their jobs because, suddenly, people wouldn’t be driving as much. Car repair shops would begin to lose their clients. Even secretaries could become antiquated, as there wouldn’t necessarily be a brick-and-mortar office to work at.

This argument is brought up at the advent of any new system or technology that replaces an old one, usually by people who benefit from keeping the old guard in place as long as possible. Of course the oil industry doesn’t want people to start using less oil…that messes with their bottom line. Of course car mechanics don’t want people to start driving less, because if they do, there won’t be as many accidents and necessary oil changes.

But as with any changing of the guard, there are always new opportunities, and usually better ones than before. Oil field workers might get laid off, but their skill sets will allow them to transition easily into manning solar farms. Car mechanics will be able to get a certification to work on hybrid and electric cars, as well as scooters, bikes, and whatever else comes along in a society where hardcore, time-sensitive commuting isn’t necessary every day.

Probably the biggest thing standing in the way of a mass movement toward telecommuting is the antagonism of the businesses themselves. Under the current system, they have little incentive to allow their employees to work from home, even though gas prices are sucking up a great deal more of their paychecks than in the past. This doesn’t impact the company as a whole, and therefore it isn’t necessary to change (‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’).

This is a tough hurdle, because it would likely require some kind of government intervention to really alter significantly. If the Federal Government were to take the subsidies that are currently given to oil companies and instead give them to businesses that initiate sweeping telecommuting programs, there would be a mass exodus toward more carbon-neutral commuting practices. These businesses would be able to save money in myriad ways, including the money they’ll save on desks, office equipment, rent on their brick-and-mortar buildings, insurance settlements (paid out to employees who are injured at or on their way to the office), general upkeep and transport fees.

Such a sweeping change would allow for a whole new category of skill sets to become valuable, as well. Managers that are web- and tech-savvy will suddenly have their day in the sun, easily managing their employees by phone and the Internet. Delivery services and streaming downloads will become a larger part of peoples’ lives, and anything that can be digitized will be, saving the resources that would go in to making redundant equipment.

Whatever your title, be it teacher or designer or taxicab driver (remote-controlled cabs?), might soon becoming a telecommuting position. It would be good for the environment, good for the economy, and good for the development of technology.

Better invest in some nice drapes, because you may be seeing a lot more of them very soon.

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