Do you know what is causing climate change, destroying rainforests, and drowning polar bears? Yes, it's your DVR! OK, it's not that bad, but did you know that DVRs in this great nation of ours use as much electricity as the entire state of Maryland?

The problem is that DVRs—those handy devices that let you record, rewind, and rewatch your favorite shows whenever you want—use the same amount of power when playing and recording shows as they do just sitting there collecting dust in your entertainment center. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the 160 million DVRs in the U.S. use 27 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. Yeah, that means nothing to us either. Let's put it in terms we can all understand. They waste a collective $2 billion in electricity each year. That's a lot!

But what do they expect us to do about this? I love the earth, but it's not like I can start watching So You Think You Can Dance with all the commercials and the excruciating commentary from Tyce Diorio which I normally just fast forward through. I can't be bothered to be home right at 10:30pm on a Friday night to catch Fashion Police. (I love Joan Rivers, but it's Friday night!) Apparently there are more energy-conscious boxes in use in Europe that power down when not recording, but those aren't available in the U.S. yet. Can we hurry up and get them here already? Until then I guess I'm going to have to choose between saving the planet and recording that House Hunters International marathon. What to do? What to do?!

[Image via Getty]