Would it better for me to charge my electronics during my morning commute, by plugging them into the car charger?
A commute long enough to charge your electronics is probably a bigger "sin" than a cell phone plugged in overnight.
A commute long enough to charge your electronics is probably a bigger "sin" than a cell phone plugged in overnight.
(I love all the SUVs filled with one grocery bag at Whole Foods. Do you really think that buying some locally-grown organic carrots offsets the energy you spent driving your military vehicle 3 blocks?)
"Forget Shorter Showers" (http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4801...) points out that perhaps we've duped to think that energy shortages/waste are _our_ fault, when, in fact, it's industry, large-scale agriculture, and our military that are the biggest abusers. Of course, this isn't an excuse to not be lower impact ourselves (and perhaps not purchasing products that support certain industries), but we can't be fooled into thinking that changing our charging habit is going to save the environment.
If your power comes from a coal/oil plant, it's a rather harder decision, which depends on your vehicles efficiency. However, it's most certainly going to use more fuel (and thus cost you more) than it would take to receive the equivalent electricity.