I feel so used.

I have been religiously unplugging my cellphone charger while not in use as of late. This behavior is a result of a very convincing commercial I saw on TV while staying in a hotel (since we don't have TV, hotels and the internet are my main source of commercials). I trusted those energy savvy children who informed me that cellphone chargers continue to use electicity while waiting to be used to renew your cell phone. And I have been feeling like a champion of the enery-concious cause as of late, because I am doing my part by unplugging my cellphone charger. I even surreptitiously unplug others' chargers when the opportunity presents itself. It's for the greater good, right? Well, Paul did a little research, which is probably a smart move when you're getting your facts from television commercials, and guess how much energy we are saving a year. Four kWh. Which means that due to my vigilance in unplugging our cellphone chargers, we are saving twenty cents a year! Twenty cents! A year! This is ridiculous!

Why are we making commercials about this!?! Why are we not making commercials about walking more, or growing gardens, or buying locally grown foods, or purchasing used items, or any number of things that by doing only ONCE in a year would save more energy than unplugging our cell phone chargers in that same year! Now these are things that I already do, but for the other folks out there who are looking for a low-hanging fruit kind-of way to celebrate Earth Day, I feel like we're giving them a false sense of security. I can save the planet just by unplugging my cell phone charger? Done!

So, basically, I'm going to continue doing my part for Mother Earth, which I believe includes constantly looking for new ways to cut back, but I'm going to stop being a cell phone charger vigilante. Even if it is out of spite for that TV commercial.