The typical American household owns about 25 gadgets--TVs,
phones, video game consoles, cable boxes, computers, and other
consumer electronics--many of which waste energy by continuing
to draw power even when they're off, or in stand-by mode. All
those gadgets waste about several billion dollars worth of
electricity each year, nationwide. According to the U.S
Department of Energy, 10 percent of your electric bill stems
from items that you aren't even using.  As we approach the
height of the holiday (and gadget-shopping) season, it's good to
know that pulling the plug on this energy waste is getting a lot
easier, thanks to federal efficiency standards and the work of
people like my colleague Noah Horowitz, an energy efficiency
expert, who works with manufacturers to turn their products from
energy hogs into energy-sippers. As a result, we have video game
consoles that are 50 percent more efficient than they were a few
years ago; 55-inch TVs that cost only about a dollar a month to
operate; and pretty soon, tha