Econundrum: Phone Chargers Go Global

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In Brazil, people with some of the world's smallest carbon footprints are being displaced—so their forests can become offsets for SUVs.

—Mark Schapiro

I recently forgot my phone charger on a weeklong trip. I was staying with friends, so I asked around: Surely someone had a charger that fit my phone? No dice. A subway ride to the AT&T store and $30 later, I had a new charger, identical to my old one. I used it for the remainder of the trip, then shoved it in a drawer when I got home. Good story, huh?

So-called "redundant chargers" are actually a big problem—not just for forgetful people like me, but for folks who buy the same phone over and over and get a new charger (they typically come with the phone) every time. An estimated 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide in 2008, and the UN's International Telecommunication Union estimates that between 50 and 80 percent of those were replacements.

Good news: The Union just approved a universal charger. If enough manufacturers adopt it, the industry could make half as many chargers—thus reducing greenhouse gases from manufacturing and transporting replacement chargers by as much as 15 to 24 million tons a year.

Bonus: The universal charger will likely use half as much energy on standby as conventional chargers, solving the "wall wart" problem.

The charger is currently set to launch internationally next year, and a European industry group expects it to come standard with many phones by 2012. Manufacturers won't be required to sign on, but a few (Samsung, Nokia, Motorola) already have.

So consider this a heads up: If you're in the market for a new cell phone next year, look for one with a universal charger. In the meantime, unplug your charger when you're not using it: If 10 percent of cell phone users unplugged, they would save enough energy to power 60,000 European homes. Consider a hand-crank or solar-powered charger. (People seem to like this one, which is also a radio and a flashlight. Cool.) And, uh, remember to take your charger with you on vacation.

It would be great if Apple signed up to it - but I suspect they won't...

APPLE PUSHED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN -- NOKIA Sony did nothing for at least 10 years!!

You say you want a revolution?

Toss out that climate killer handyphone right now!
Unplug from the total corporate hegemon- start with your ugly, anti rovolutionary cell phone- toss it out!

It's a bummer you didn't have one of these: www.voltaicsystems.com

portable solar chargers that work + universal adaptors = the green future for handhelds?

Such a timely article. I forgot my phone charger recently when on vacation but when I went to the T-Mobile store, they said they didn't sell that model charger anymore since the phone was older. I've had to buy a replacement at least 4 times so that is the more pricey aspect of a mobile phone.

Sorry, but standardization will never happen outside of the military.
The "Free Market" sees too much profit potential in producing incompatible products, even within the same product line.
If they were to agree on a standard, universal charger, the economies of scale would bring the price down considerably. However, they would sell fewer overall, and profit on a $3 item is less than that on a $10 item.

I work in pro audio. As long as Ma Bell and the broadcast industry ruled, we had standards which were pretty much inviolate, and every product from every manufacturer worked together. Now that "The Market" has invaded, the "standards" are usually some proprietary protocol which rose to prominance not from excellence, but due to marketing factors. Can you say, Winduhs?

Jesus is coming, look busy.

Everybody knows you go to a big hotel and ask to see the
"Box-o-Chargers. There will be 2 of what you need.

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