energy conservation
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Is it bad to leave chargers plugged in?
A reader seeks clarification on energy-sucking phone and laptop chargers. Umbra divulges the juicy truth.
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Wasting energy = blue balls, apparently
It seems to be a pretty time-honored advertising strategy that when you want your message to really hit, you need to connect it to things men want/don't want to happen to their penises. In this example, found on Tumblr, wasting energy is … blue balls, or maybe priapism? And turning off the light is an […]
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Ask Umbra: Is it bad to leave a window open when the heat is on?
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, When I was in college, I had a friend who thought she was eco-conscious, but she used to crank the heat and then leave the windows open for “fresh air.” Years later, I dated a woman who lived in a building where the heaters were stuck on […]
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Pulling the plug on L.A.
The energy savers took on the Empire State Building. Now they’re out to get Los Angeles.
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Meet clean energy's smart guy
MacArthur "genius award"-winner Shwetak Patel talks about a future where your house tracks your energy consumption -- and your every move.
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Jevons paradox: When doing more with less isn't enough
The 19th-century theory that increased energy efficiency just leads to increased consumption is experiencing a resurgence. But we shouldn't let Jevons Paradox serve as an excuse for inaction.
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Sing along to this awesomely cheesy theme song for energy wasters
The musical "Seein' the Light" was written in 1978, but nothing has really changed: People still deny there's a fuel or climate crisis, and they still put on their Serious Thespian black turtlenecks and sing about it. The guy singing is kind of super-intense — he regularly goes 20 seconds or more between blinks — […]
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How bad ideas keep rebounding into public discourse: the rebound effect and its refutation
The rebound effect: a light that never goes out.Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Every few years, a new report emerges that tries to resurrect an old hypothesis: that energy efficiency policy somehow results in consumers using more energy instead of less. This hypothesis was introduced in the 19th century by economist William Stanley […]