Earlier this week the results of a study on the energy efficiency ratings of each state in the US was released, and California was on top. Other states which ranked highly were fellow tech hotbeds such as Massachusetts and Connecticut.

That the tech hotspots were able to take top honours doesn't really come as much of a surprise, as the rankings are not based on energy consumption, but on efforts to implement energy efficiency programs and technologies. The states that have a greater concentration of tech firms should have more sophisticated efforts in place.

It does, however, speak well for California, and Silicon Valley in particular. The state has always prided itself as a leader in social and technological movements, and last week the Governor told the crowd at Oracle's OpenWorld conference that Silicon Valley and the rest of California's IT industry is now and should in the future take the lead in making the country as a whole greener and more energy efficient.

That the state has now been recognised as the leader in energy-saving efforts should be a nice feather in the cap of Silicon Valley and the green tech crowd in particular. 

22 Oct 2009