Something that has come up twice, Mr. Chairman, in committee is the use of electronic devices from a consumer perspective.
You had mentioned, Mr. Konow, that in 1975 the average number of consumer electronics devices per U.S. house was 1.3, compared with 25 in 2005.
In the previous deputation, we heard--and we've been concentrating on major appliances--that between 1990 and 2004, electricity use declined because of technology improvements in that particular consumer area. However, a 71% increase in electricity use for minor appliances--computers were referred to in that other statistic--has raised the overall electricity demand by 9%. So the impact is sort of like the proverbial caucus race: you have to run faster and faster just to stay in the same place.
From a consumer's perspective, I'm at a loss. My kids tell me that it's more efficient just to leave the laptop and the computers on. I can't believe that. I think they're stringing me a line. Can you confirm that they're stringing me a line? And what are we doing in terms of...? That's a fairly large order of magnitude in the consumer area.