Power Play

It’s all about alternative energy. Sure, just about every piece of electronics we currently use contains a rechargeable battery, and that keeps a little bit of battery acid out of landfills. But the electricity is still coming, on the whole, from oil and coal power plants.

There are some solar chargers which remove the middle man, but we need others, since the sun is so damn fickle. Kinetic chargers, like the hand-cranked and shake-powered flashlights have potential, though they don’t really store power for long enough.

Of course, there’s always the incentive of having to keep moving if you want to talk on the phone or listen to your ipod. We can ultimately legitimize extravagance by fueling it ourselves.

Ultimately, however, I would like to see static-powered devices, even if it means wearing industrial-strength corduroy or swatches of deep-pile carpet on the soles of our shoes.