Flickr Photo: Tim.DeeringKermit the frog crooned that "It's Not Easy Being Green," but we're seeing more and more examples of how it IS easy to be green. (Seriously, can I get a round of applause for that pun? I wrote that while sitting at an airport gate at 7am!)

When email went mainstream in the mid-nineties, there was enthusiastic yammering about the coming of the PAPERLESS office. Of course, we now know that the digital age has actually increased our paper consumption. But trees are only one small part of the strain that technology and IT departments put on the environment. In fact, the IT department may be the most resource consumptive department at your organization.

Lots of for- and nonprofits alike are turning to their IT departments to fuel the greening of their organizations, however, and they are saving money in the process. CIO Magazine just profiled the Washington Mutual IT department and their efforts. Though WaMu is certainly a larger enterprise than most, there are a few tips we can all learn from:

The Al Gore affect on the environment continues to play itself out. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Google is going green. Or at least, greener.

Over the next several years, the tech giant and its foundation will invest tens of millions of dollars in renewable energy research and development; it will also invest in renewable energy companies. Part of the plan also includes building solar power plants.

The motive? Start with this little statistic from the article:

"Google officials decline to say just how much power its data centers use to run its vast Internet search site and its other businesses.

But by some estimates, the company spends more than $2 million per month on electricity to power its network of an estimated 450,000 computer servers."

We're sure the greater good figures somewhere in there as a motivation, too.