To stop that from happening, we need to increase conservation, increase energy efficiency, increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels, increase our use of nuclear power, and increase drilling for oil and gas here at home.

CNN: Transcript of Gov. Jindal's GOP response to Obama speech

Less than one percent of Califonia's energy supply comes from the lower Snake River dams, conservation groups note.

CNN: Energy crisis affects Snake River dam proposal

Though Koomey can't specify to what extent the financial crisis and technological advancements are to blame, he insists, broadly speaking, that we're primarily seeing fallout from the economic slowdown -- a stay of execution, of sorts, for those of us rooting for energy conservation.

ENGADGET: Report: data centers accounted for just 1 to 1.5 percent of electricity use last year, Google claims less than 1 percent of that