The writer has discovered that electrically powered devices use electricity. This is the style of reporting that gives environmentalism a bad name, by making it trivial. Scientific American was once a great magazine.

The gist of this story is that society plays video games and children, in particular, do not shut off devices, with the cumulative effect being a waste of energy and global resources. It's enterprising, to an extent, in that the writer figured this out; however, its lack of depth made the topic one of ridicule in the comments section of this magazine, when better sourcing could have lived up to Scientific American standards. For instance, stats on children remaining indoors rather than playing outside also add to the bill, as does multitasking with television and other devices. There are also other social effects, from obesity--consuming more food while multitasking to requiring more health care while growing up. What we read ... More »