The environmental damage caused by continuously idle computers is nothing new. However, even in these dire economic straits nearly half of U.S. workers who use a PC at work do not shut it down at night.
These constantly powered, unused computers waste $2.8B a year, according to the 2009 PC Energy Report - an international study released Wednesday by UK software company 1E and the Alliance to Save Energy. How many machines did it take to wreak such eco havoc? In the United States alone that number came to a staggering 108 million, according to the study.
Idling computers are projected to emit 20 million tons of carbon dioxide by year's end - equivalent to emissions from 4 million cars. To avoid this, 1E and the Alliance to Save Energy recommend simple, non-intrusive green IT practices.
"Employers today have a golden opportunity to demonstrate their environmental and financial leadership by taking a few simple, energy-saving measures, like setting up processes to power down PCs," said Sumir Karayi, CEO of 1E. "Shutting down PCs when not in use will help businesses to significantly reduce costs while preventing tons of CO2 from being emitted into our atmosphere."
This post originally appeared on GoodCleanTech.
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