It is worth trying if you're trying your smartest. If you're simply abdicating the responsibility of doing the hard thinking to someone else, then you're not t

It is worth trying if you're trying your smartest. If you're simply abdicating the responsibility of doing the hard thinking to someone else, then you're not trying, just flaunting a green badge. This type of measurement ought to be perfect. 1. Computers can report how much power they are using. Laptops directly, for servers you might have to do something fancy like keep track of uptime and check your power supply's wattage. I think the latest Laptop CPUs can reduce power consumption when not fully loaded, not sure. But I don't think server chips are that complicated... yet. 2. Call your power company and ask them how much of the power they provide is hydro, coal, wind, solar, nuclear, etc. 3. Do some math. That should give you exactly how much CO2 you're using. The next question is, does funding green energy sources make sense? It might not. It might be worse then doing nothing. Here's how: High tech has a much lower CO2/output ratio then almost any other industry. So it would be much easier for high tech to pay a green penalty, especially if it comes with bragging rights. However, the other 90% of CO2 producers, will only switch if it is profitable. And here's the crux, by funding unprofitable green sources, you could be hurting the development of ones which are truly economical. OPEC is cutting production with oil over $100 a barrel, for sweet zombie jesus' sake! Alternative energy ought to be competitive without help. If you're still worried about your CO2 emissions, pay someone to plant a tree, that won't compete with green tech. Or buy more stuff from an organic farmer, because organically worked soil is a huge CO2 sponge. Or spend some money on lobbying politicians. Or at least don't give money to someone who: " reserves the right to cap REC purchases in case of excessive use, as its own discretion."