Google wants you to use energy to save energy. In its latest scheme to save the planet, Google is asking anyone with a video camera to make and upload a video that illustrates the benefits of energy-efficient computing.Without any sense of the irony of asking people to use electrically powered video cameras and computers to produce videos about saving electric power, Google insists that "the biggest obstacle we face is not technological, it's awareness."

(I'd argue that the biggest obstacle we face is Facebook -- who knows how many kilowatt-hours have been frittered away on sheep throwing and tagging friends.)

"Pick up a camera and create a video telling the Climate Savers Computing story," the contest Web site advises. "The challenge is to develop original and creative videos that educate, entertain, and/or inform others about the importance of energy-efficient computing to the global environment."

The Climate Savers Computing Initiative was founded by Google and Intel in 2007 to promote energy-efficient IT. It aims to reduce global CO₂ emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons per year by 2010.

The group counts dozens of other companies as members, including AMD, Dell, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard.

The winning video submitted to the Power Down for the Planet Video Challenge will win $5,000 cash. Other prizes will be awarded, too. The contest began on March 2 and runs through April 17.

Were I inclined to enter this contest, I'd submit a clip of an off switch being flicked. But I'll probably just wait until the winning video is posted, so I can watch it with my monitor at maximum brightness.