The statistics on server and PC energy consumption are severely dated. These days, more than half of all computers sold are laptops, which consume perhaps 60 watts and, unlike many desktops, are religiously powered down every evening. Desktops, too, now have a lower energy profile, typically 145 watts for a desktop PC and 40 watts for a flat screen monitor.

Meanwhile, servers have lately received enormous attention for their own power consumption. Lower wattage processors, miniaturized disks, and server virtualization have combined to slash their power profiles. Blade servers, far the most popular kind in the server farms found at hosting facilities, each typically run at 65 watts. That's a small fraction of the number quoted in the article.

I respectfully submit that assertions by editors that their newspapers and magazines are somehow eco-friendly are self-serving, delusional, or both.