REUTERS, Silicon Valley

In the wake of a power crisis that nearly brought one of the worlds largest economy's to a stand still California Governor Gray Davis launched a campaign yesterday to save the electrons. At a conference addressing over 10,000 office workers in Silicon Valley the Governor explained how each and every one of them could contribute to the cause.

"A typical Word document is composed of thousands of letters. Each of these letters is displayed on the screen by projecting millions of electrons against a phosphor coated pane of glass. Each letter on your screen is essentially millions of electrons. Now we all make mistakes, God knows I've made by share, and if we could erase these mistakes without any consequences I'm sure we would all do it.

But stop and think about it for a moment. Each time you hit that back space key you are erasing millions of electrons. Now electrons are very very small, and there are very very many of them, but if each of us just goes around erasing a few million here a few million there, it begins to add up. Before you know it we start to run out and have to make some more.

So the next time you look up and see that squiggly red line because you accidentally put a 'U' in 'Color' don't just fly off the handle and send that 'R' with its millions of little electrons to that great Power Plant in the Sky. Use the arrow keys. That's what they are there for. For years wasteful people have been touting the solution to anything you don't want on your computer as 'just hit delete'. Now I'm telling 'Don't just hit delete'"

The Governor proposed additional electron saving practices, such as using fewer capitol letters, sending letters by mail, and using abbreviated forms of words and phrases such as 'c u l8r'. Next week he will announce a state bill to outlaw the use of overstrike mode.