Lifehacker recently announced the results of a survey of their readers regarding e-mail. 54% indicated they prefer to manage e-mail on the web, versus just 24% who prefer a desktop email client. 20% prefer a hybrid approach (see “Web-based e-mail slaughters Its Desktop Counterparts“). Web-based e-mail is preferred for lots of reasons. With this note I’ll highlight one you might not have considered yet. Web-based e-mail can be better for the environment. Google has been the driving force behind Data Center and Server efficiency and optimization for the last few years. They have been using a variety of means to lower data center energy use (detailed at Google’s Going Green site). The gist of it is that they use water evaporation, streamlined electrical infrastructure, and minimized technology requirements to curb their energy desires. They even take the Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) out of their servers to lessen energy requirements.