I don't expect we'll see a special "Green Electronics" section in Fry's or Circuit City any time soon, and maybe it's best that we don't. Ghettoizing green design and manufacturing practices in small boutique markets won't give us the economies of scale needed to move them into the mainstream. But while green tech is still at the resistant end of the adoption curve, several events at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas indicate we are close to the tipping point, where the manufacture, sale and recovery of environmentally responsible products become economically feasible.

Designing products for reduced toxics, increased energy efficiency, extended service life and recyclability is already technically feasible, but these practices are up against the chicken-and-egg conundrum that faced early proponents of every new technology. Today, for example, electronics recycling is happening piecemeal because there is almost no infrastructure to return products, and because products are not designed with universal recycling principles in mind.

The IEEE's Symposium on Electronics and the Environment has done much of the early groundwork for industrywide recycling practices, but the appearance of both a workshop and exhibits at CES' "Green Saturday" may mark the point where ecology gets down to business Clearly, environmental issues have moved from the concern of a few granola-munching fanatics to a topic of discussion in corporate boardrooms when the world's largest consumer electronics exhibition has designated Saturday, Jan. 11, "Environmental Awareness Day." In the session titled "From Desktop to Doorstop," you'll find representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition sharing the stage with vice presidents from Dell, Panasonic and several electronics recycling companies, all working together to define the challenges involved in moving away from a "ship, bill and landfill" economy.

The session on energy efficiency during CES' Green Saturday is equally exciting. Government and industry leaders will come together to gauge the effectiveness of both market-based programs and legislative solutions in cutting global energy consumption. You'll also hear about some of the exciting market opportunities created by the demand for high-efficiency computing, lighting and transportation products.

If you're at CES, be sure to stop by the electronics recycling and energy conservation pavilions on the show floor. You'll find products, technologies and ideas from Canon, Panasonic, Power Integrations, Ricoh and others to help you start greening your business-and your bottom line. Whether you get to Las Vegas or not, be sure to stop by the Green Saturday Web page, at http://www.cesweb.org/special_events/day3.asp, for more details. The information you'll find there will help keep you from being left behind when our industry hits the tipping point and heads toward a more sustainable future.

questions? comments? tips on green-tech startups? write me at: lgoldberg@green-electronics.com.