As Gittleman sees it, we are surrounded by electronic devices, electricity, transmission signals and wireless devices.

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Cold-ironing allows ships at dock to plug into shore-side electricity sources to power electronic and mechanical systems needed for loading and unloading activities.

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Just last month Altra launched an electricity-trading site, hoping to grab a share of an electronic market now dominated by the Powermatch exchange operated by Bloomberg Financial Markets.

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For instance, an electronic voter ID system intended to prevent fraud failed across the country for lack of electricity in some cases and overheating computers in others.

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