Joe's point about secondary batteries (rechargeable) is well taken. I
have both a video and a still digital cameras. With the video, it is
necessary to remove the battery to recharge it and it actually reuires
four operations to do so. This is a bit of a pain. The still camera
charges in situ and takes about 7 hours to do so. It involves simply
plugging the PSU into the camera, so that part is easy. In the
meanwhile, the camera cannot be used. This is also a bit of a pain. As
it happens, I have a spare battery for each camera, so I can live with
the inconvenience. I feel it would be a good idea to offer both
possibilities, so that the choice of charging method is in the hands of
the user. The extra cost should not be phenomenal.

While beefing about this, I discovered, after I got it home, that the
PSU for my still camera is for 230 V only. Do the manufacturers of these
cameras think that they are never taken out of the country to one where
the power supply is 110/120 V? The same applies to my mobile telephone
(number never divulged :-) ) but here there is more excuse, in that it
will not work in N. America, although I have had a problem with it
elsewhere. The upshot is that, when I travel to countries where the
power voltage is 110/120 V, I now carry a step-up xformer, bought from
RadioShack. May I make a plea to designers of portable reachargeable
equipment to ALWAYS make them suitable for 100 to 240 V (nominal) 50 or
60 Hz?

Brian

Brian Ellis wrote:
>
> My thought for the day.
>
> Many of us are involved in designing/manufacturing/using
> battery-operated equipment.
> In a few countries, batteries of all types are recycled. In some others,
> only a few battery types are recycled. In many countries, they are
> either landfilled or incinerated.
>
> Under these circumstances, which battery type is the most
> environmentally friendly? Do we have a duty to ensure that electronic
> equipment has an absolute maximum battery life? Is this a sales argument
> which can justify a potentially higher cost? What responsibility do we
> bear to ensure that the used batteries that may be disposed of create
> the least environmental damage? For example, is it better to use a
> larger battery size (more pollutants but proportionally longer
> lifetime)? Should we choose primary or secondary batteries, for
> preference? What can we do to promote better battery recycling
> throughout the world?
>
> Brian