Internet sex is more draining on the environment (and your wallet) than the real thing. Even with a light and a stereo on, a romantic foray in real life would only draw 90 watts of electricity. Running a computer, even in the dark, would use at lease 250 watts. So, choosing sex with a partner in the flesh over plugging into the World Wide Web would save at least 160-watt pull on the world’s energy resources and reduce your greenhouse gas contributions by about 120 grams of carbon dioxide. (For a half hour, based on calculations from The Rocky Mountain Institute.)

If one subtracts the electric blanket (180 watts) or the portable electric heater (1,000 watts) that wouldn’t be needed when sharing body warmth, then the environmental choice is clear.

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This juicy bit of info is from the current theme issue of Alternatives – Eros & Nature. Posted with permission.

Alternatives says this issue is “about sex. Not about reproductive biology in animals. Or pollination in plants. It’s about human sexuality, desire, libido. Our erotic nature.

“Whether we’re connecting with nature through our sexuality, finding erotic inspiration in geography or falling prey to corporate image-mongers, our carnal nature is a powerful source of energy. This issue of Alternatives explores how human sexuality can be used to bind us to habits and attitudes that are self- and nature-destructive or it can help set us free. And in freeing ourselves, we can heal our relationship with nature.

“Eros and Nature is a great resource for environmentalists, the casual reader, eco-queers, and anyone seeking deeper meaning in the nature of sexuality.”