The Upside to America's Gadget Infatuation

Americans have never been more addicted to devices. Thanks to the mobile revolution initiated by the iPhone, the U.S. alone is home to 238 million mobile phones and 140 million tablets that are rarely shut down. And their numbers are growing, thanks to a perpetual upgrade cycle and demand for new features. For environmentalists, it's a looming electronic nightmare in which America's gadget obsession consumes increasingly higher volumes of the world's limited resources.

Thankfully, the data shows that's not happening. As Americans shift from big devices such as traditional tube televisions and personal computers to smaller mobile devices, electricity and resource consumption is declining rapidly. America's gadget habit has never been greener.