Now given all of that, most chargers for devices, pull power even when there is no device being charged
This is true, and it’s generally a good idea to unplug chargers when they’re not in use, but most chargers from reputable manufacturers (including Apple) draw very, very little power when they’re not under load. Touch your MacBook charger when it’s not connected to a Mac; it’s totally cold, because it’s barely doing anything. I think it’s fine to leave this one plugged in. Now touch a cheap phone charger when nothing is connected to it; it’s probably warm to the touch, so that’s one you should unplug when not in use.
Anyway, my point is that wireless charging is lossy. Yep. But look around at all the small power drains you have before totally giving up on it.
I don’t quite understand the point you’re making. You’re saying that it doesn’t matter that we waste energy with wireless charging, because we also waste energy in lots of other ways? That seems like an argument for being more mindful in general, not for ignoring how utterly terrible wireless chargers are.
Convenience has a cost. (…) I’m concentrating on reducing the big-ticket items in my house first
Sure, that’s a good point, I agree. Focus on the big things first, by all means. But the problem with wireless chargers isn’t just that they’re wasteful, it’s also that they’re not all that convenient. In many ways, they’re probably overall less convenient than just using a cable, or, if you really want the convenience of not manually plugging in a cable, and want to prolong the life of your phone’s cable port, a magnetic cable. So when deciding whether to switch to a wireless charger, it’s worth considering that they’re not only pretty inconvenient, they’re also much more wasteful than a regular old cable.
If wireless chargers were an incredibly obvious, super convenient improvement over cables, then yes, maybe they’d be worth the waste of energy. But they’re not.