Climate & Nature...

Do you shut your computer down when you walk away from it, or when you go home for the night? According to a new study, only half of American workers turn their computers off a night. In addition to burning electricity and adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, it's estimated that this costs businesses $2.8 billion a year to power the 108 million unused machines left on every night.

Ouch.

So what are the lessons from this? First of all, turn your computer off at night or if you're going to be away from it for more than a few minutes. Anything else is wasteful.

Second, make sure your comptuer's sleep mode is activated. Most modern PCs use a lot less energy while they're "hibernating," but only if you don't turn these energy-saving features off first.

Third, if your company has a lot of computers, look into automated power-down software -- such as PC Power Down -- that will shut off all of your idle computers after the end of your business day. 

Fourth, go commando! If you're leaving for the day, and you notice someone else left their computer off, turn it off for them! It could be the easiest act of environmental activism your have ever done.

Now, go turn off your PC and take a walk!