Industry and government experts came together this morning at the monthly Broadband Breakfast Club to discuss how high-speed Internet access can be used to improve telecommuting and reduce carbon emissions. Drew Clark, editor of broadbandcensus.com, organizes the monthly breakfast discussion groups.

This month’s panel featured Telework!VA Program Manager Jennifer Thomas Alcott, Utilities Telecom Council Director of Research Cynthia Brumfeld, BT Americas Head of Corporate Responsibility Kevin Moss, Steven Ruth, Professor, George Mason University School of Public Policy and Donald L. Thoma, Executive Vice President Marketing, Iridium.

Some highlights from the panel:

Steven Ruth noted that if just 14 percent of eligible government employees telecommute, 136 billion vehicle miles would be saved annually.

Jennifer Thomas Alcott on telecommuting: “The bottom line is you’re using technology to replace at least part of the transportation infrastructure. What initially began as a family friendly program has really become a survival tool.” Alcott explained that when people work from home, they use about 50 percent less energy compared to working in a traditional office environment. In Virginia, which leads the nation in telecommuting, about 12 percent of commuters telework at least once or twice a week she said.

Kevin Moss said that as the FCC works on its recommendations for a national broadband plan that they should seek to promote, “a competitive environment to institute the full cost savings and environmental benefits.”

Ruth also discussed using distance learning in education by pointing out that over 20 percent of college students are taking at least one distance-learning class but that both attitudes and professional standards need to change before distance learning reaches its potential. “It is like the Wild West,” he said.

You can read more about the Broadband Breakfast Club here.