There are "instant On" functions built into many types of appliances, especially televisions, computer monitors, some audio gear, coffee makers that preheat the water, etc, all of which consume quite a bit of power as they keep the devices "ready to go." Timers on these types of appliances (including water heaters, air conditioning) make more sense than leaving them on for the life of the equipment.
Most other things only power a small electronic clock or simply an LED to making finding the "On" switch easier.
DC chargers for cell phones, MP3 players, cameras or other portable devices which are plugged in do not consume an appreciable amount of power, until you plug in the device to re-charge the batteries. Most of these things have high-tech batteries, which require "Smart Chargers," which stop the current flow once the battery is charged, too.
Admittedly, having billions of these little clocks and LED things all draining our planet of energy probably speeds up something, but these scientist people, draining grant money from our tax bases, need to think more in terms of immediate re-thinking of all our energy systems, not just prolonging the status quo.