Ponder this: for a company that has 10,000 personal-computer desktops, just leaving them turned on all night can cost more than $165,000. That’s according to Jim Carlson’s September 8th, 2009 article “The PC Goes On An Energy Diet” in the Wall Street Journal. His article goes on to say that those same computers put more than 1,380 tons of carbon dioxide into the air per year. In a 2007 report by the Alliance to Save Energy, it is estimated that $1.7 billion is being wasted in the U.S. with about 15 million tons of carbon emitted by desktops left on overnight. Those are all big numbers.

Now I ask you: how hard is it to turn off your computer every night? Answer: not very! As always with Mrs. Green, there is good news. Corporate IT managers are scrambling to find ways to reduce their PC energy expenses. The “big guys” Dell, H-P and Apple are ramping up their efforts to include green features such as more efficient power supplies and the ability to go into power-saving sleep mode faster. Humor me while I ask once again: how hard IS it to turn your computer off every night? Answer: not very!

Now are you ready for the cutting edge “it’s getting easier being green” part? There is actually a software maker called Verdiem Corp. that lets IT managers REMOTELY adjust energy use of computers — up to and including being able to shut them off while not in use! The company says its customers “have saved more than $30 million in energy costs since it began offering the service about three years ago.” That’s another big number and tons of carbon NOT being emitted.