Here’s a new product that I’m sincerely hopeful about: electronic compressed-air dusters.

Why on earth should you care? Because the conventional alternative—those little disposable canisters that everyone uses on their keyboards—are environmental disasters. They’re so loaded with hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that a single can is the climate equivalent of burning perhaps 100 gallons of gasoline. Plus, they’re a public health hazard: they’re popular for huffing, and they’ve been known to kill.

In other words, they’re a lousy, dangerous, and chemical-intensive solution to the very low tech problem of dusting.

By contrast, the new electronic version, the Canless Air System X3, has all kinds of green potential. It’s basically a rechargeable unit that electronically compresses air and then blasts it onto whatever surface you’re dusting. So in addition to avoiding HFCs, you also avoid the waste of the old disposable canisters.

Now, before you think I’m shilling, here’s a caveat: I have no idea if the new Canless Air System really works. In fact, I’ve never even seen one in real life. So, I’m hoping that some Sightline reader will shell out the $80 for it, and then let me know how it goes.

Because if it does work—if the new system is just as effective (and far greener and safer) than the old system—then it will be time to start getting the old HFC canister dusters banned outright. We may start first with corporate purchasing or sustainability departments, as well as government procurement policies. But the right thing to do, particularly if there’s a viable alternative, is to eradicate those little keyboard climate bombs from the face of the earth.

If you want to know more about the nasty “keyboard dusters” (aka “compressed air canisters” or “canned air”) I’ve written about them several times before: