Not too long ago, we ran a piece that talked about the energy-efficiency trend in server hardware and looked at how energy-efficient hardware in the data center can help cut costs while also cutting down on pollution. Unsurprisingly, we weren't the only ones paying attention to this trend: The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a bill that endorses energy-efficient hardware and instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study on server efficiency. Sure, the Senate is a bit late to the game, as some enterprises have been monitoring their power-consumption for years, but better late than never though, right? As the bill states, it is "in the best interest of the United States for purchasers of computer servers to give high priority to energy efficiency as a factor in determining best value and performance for purchases of computer servers."

For more on the bill:
- see this CNET article