Flatscreen televisions fuel increase in global warmingBy

John Bingham - Daily Telegraph
Last Updated: 6:01pm BST 02/07/2008

The boom in flatscreen television could be fuelling global warming more than official estimates, scientists have warned.
Experts in California estimate that production of a powerful greenhouse gas used in their production has hit 4,000 tonnes a year - enough to match the annual carbon dioxide emissions of Austria.
Research published in New Scientist estimates that the industrial component - known as "NF3" - is 17,000 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. But it is not covered by the Kyoto protocol because it was only made in tiny amounts when the agreement was signed in 1997.
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Professor Michael Prather from the University of California at Irvine, who came up with the estimate, said that if the entire annual production of NF3 was released into the atmosphere it would have the equivalent effect on the Earth's climate as 67 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Although it is said to be accumulating in the atmosphere, its levels have not been measured. Scientists believe that it has a half-life in the atmosphere of 550 years.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "This is an issue that affects every country, and we're working with other members of EU to ensure that all new synthetic greenhouse gases, including NF3, are covered as part of any future UN climate change agreements.
"We expect to be able to deal with this issue as part of a new global climate treaty in Copenhagen next year."