energy at home
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Snappy answers to stupid questions about smart meters
Smart meters are a revolutionary technology that could save money, save the planet, and enable a switch to renewable energy, so you’d think they’d be really popular with Californians, right? Except that California is also full of right-leaning tin-foil haberdashers and left-leaning hypochondriacs, says the New York Times. The two groups have formed an unholy […]
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Smart appliances are coming! (Some day)
The time when your refrigerator can have an intelligent conversation with the local utility's smart grid could finally be on the horizon.
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Bored with winter energy-saving tips? We've got some tips for you
Tips for saving energy and money on home heating using passive heating, wood stoves, and innovative architecture.
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Understanding the smart meter backlash
The California revolt over smart grids says plenty about the importance of psychology in energy tech. And while protests over radiation and cost ripoffs may be debunk-able, privacy concerns aren't going away quickly.
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The smart grid could help you be smarter about your home electricity use
The smart grid, we?re told, will integrate renewable energy and decentralize power production. But what?s in it for you and me?
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Our energy-gulping industrial food system revealed in eight bullet points
New York Times recently ran Stephen Budiansky's op-ed hailing the energy efficiency of the industrial food system. The reality is much more complex
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Defending lifestyle changes: who's delusional on saving energy?
Two New York Times blogs, Green and Dot Earth, are flogging a new study that chides energy-conserving Americans for succumbing to a set of "myths" prioritizing behavioral changes over efficiency upgrades. One supposed myth is that line-drying saves more energy than washing the clothes in cooler water. Huh?
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The climate clock ticks faster, a solar campus, butter as biofuel, and 7 more green tales
Ten stories you might have missed from the greenosphere.
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Ask Umbra on wasps, researching your own eco-questions, and energy vampires
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Every time the weather gets warmer, it’s the same: the wasps! They insist on trying to make their home in my balcony! I tried many different things, like citronella candles, but some of them apparently attract instead of repelling wasps. I don’t want to kill them; I […]