Shut down idle computers on your network automatically (IBM developerWorks)

That's great in the short term for those projects, but it would be good if we still have a planet that is livable in the long term (fewer severe weather events, less mass migration from unlivable areas, less resource conflict/wars, etc), so reducing electricity usage is well worth it - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming.

Data centers use about 1.2% of all US power, less than some estimates but still growing fast - see http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/downloads/koomeysum...

I'm sure this will cue an interesting discussion...