Republicans, Democrats, Europeans, Americans, Theists, Atheists, Circus Clowns, and small children can all agree on one thing; waste is bad. One of the most needlessly wasteful by-products of our modern existence is, wait for it, the cell phone charger. Think about it; every time you get a new cell phone, you get a new charger. Many of them aren't compatible and most cell chargers get thrown away when you stop using the phone.

Gizmodo states that we could reduce our waste by 51,000 tons a year if we were to switch to a universal charging standard. That's what they're doing over in Europe (Reuters) and all of the major manufacturers seem to be on board. If everyone uses the same charger, new phones don't need to come with new chargers. That's money saved for manufacturers, and for the carriers who have to ship all of that extra charger weight to their customers.

A universal charging solution benefits everyone, which is why the United Nation's International Telecommunication Union (the ITU) has gotten involved in selecting one. They recently gave their approval to an "energy efficient one-charger-fits-all" mobile charging solution. This solution is thought to be based around the microUSB charger, which is the same device the GSM Association has been looking at.