I am the luckiest of luddites, married to a tech genius Mac consultant who knows how to wrestle ornery laptops into submission and can, with the touch of his hands, heal an ailing hard drive. Our tiny apartment is a veritable orchard of Apples; here, a Mac, there, a Mac, everywhere a Mac, Mac (except the bathroom, which is officially a tech-free zone where cell phones and laptops are off limits, although Matt routinely ignores this ban.)

At night, our apartment is a veritable galaxy of LEDs emitting a glow from our routers, a switch, a wi-fi base, cable modem, and multiple printers. It makes me wonder; is our little Mac mecca squandering electricity?

The American Council for An Energy-Efficient Economy says no. The ACEEE has just issued a “groundbreaking study,” according to the CS Monitor, which concluded that “for every kilowatt-hour of electricity used by information and communications technologies, the US saves at least 10 times that amount.”

Technological innovations have spurred a remarkable rise in energy efficiency in the U.S. in recent years, the Monitor reports:

Companies are making big improvements. Not long ago, delivery giant UPS introduced new software to develop more efficient routes and help drivers avoid left-hand turns. Result: 28.5 million fewer miles driven and 3 million gallons of gas saved each year.

Individuals are saving more energy, too, through telecommuting, and doing their banking and shopping online. Of course, as Nicole noted earlier today, all this time on the Internet is leading to another kind of energy conservation; our own. We’re spending more time than ever sitting indoors communing with our motherboards instead of getting out and communing with Mother Earth. I’m glad to know our constellation of LEDs doesn’t waste a ton of energy, but we should probably go outside and look at some real stars, once in a blue moon.

Get tips on how to conserve energy–and commune with nature–from the National Wildlife Federation.