Anyone living in the US has most likely heard this by now:

“On February 17, 2009, federal law requires that all full-power television broadcast stations stop broadcasting in analog format and broadcast only in digital format.”

It will be a sad day when this happens for the environment, and possibly the economy. While the government might be giving out $40 coupons in order to help people buy approved converter boxes, the truth of the matter is that most Americans are going to go out and buy new televisions, even if it’s tight on their budget.

What will this do to the environment?

Many people are going to be throwing away their old analog televisions, causing a huge amount of waste all over the US. Do you know how many people own analog televisions? Let me just say it’s a lot, and it’s pretty easy to figure out that many of them are going to buy new televisions. A huge amount of Americans don’t think “eco-friendly”, thus it is easy to conclude that many lead-filled televisions are not going to be responsibly thrown out, making this problem even more daunting.

For those of you who do care about our future on this planet, their are many environmentally-safe ways to get rid of these televisions. Check out MyGreenElectronics, a service that allows you to find local business that will dispose of your TV (and other electronic) waste.

What’s the deal with these $40 coupons?

“Since January 1, the federal government has been offering households two $40 vouchers to defray the cost of designated devices, which cost $50 to $70.”

The government is going to be dishing out nearly 22.5 Million Coupons($900Mil) in order to provide a smoother transition to DTV through coupons for digital converter boxes. Don’t be too happy though, because you are of course paying for these yourself through your taxes.

The last day to get these coupons, is going to be March 31, 2009. These coupons will expire about three months after they have been issued.

Consumer groups have been arguing that more coupons are going to be needed to support this transition. When these coupons run out, Congress might authorize another 11 Million coupons($450Mil) for Americans. The NTIA Website states that the agency will be sending out vouchers starting February 17, 2008.

You can find more information over at the NTIA Website.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.