I’m quite fond of buying things used and then fixing them up. My current smartphone, and iPhone 5s, was purchased second hand from the United States and I’ve already replaced the battery once. Lithium-ion batteries have a limited amount of charging cycles and my replacement battery was also nearing the end of it’s life. I ordered a replacement battery from eBay and after receiving it I went about installing it.

I saw Al Gore’s latest film today. I remember seeing his original film, an Inconvenient Truth about decade ago. In the intervening time I, as well as the world, has changed so much. While the first film followed the pattern of alternating good news and bad news with a conclusion of how to take action this itteration felt like it focussed more on the direness of the current situation while the good news felt more like an ill-fated attempt at balance.

I recently had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of the film The Age of Consequences. The film is based on a report, of the same name, that was released by CSIS, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Using voice overs, interviews, striking visuals and news footage the message is clear: the world is facing serious challenges. By interviewing mainly retired US armed forces personnel, the film aims to avoid audiences dismissing the climate change issue as a left-wing only concern.

I’m not sure if there are any readers here who are fans of speculative fiction dealing with peak-oil, but if there are I can heartily recommend the Inter States series by Ralph Meima. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book Fossil Nation and I am waiting in anticipation for the release of the second book in the series. Here is an idea of what to expect… A historic migration begins, triggered by Hurricane Rhiannon but accelerated by deeper currents.

The hunt The term “vampire power” or “phantom load” have been taken up into the cultural lexicon. For those who have not heard the terms before they refer to the power use in a house by things that aren’t doing anything useful. Like a TV in standby mode. I used my trusty power meter to check all the power outlets in my apartment in order to calculate my phantom load.

Saving energy is a worthy aim but like most goals it is better if you have a measurable target to aim for. How should you go about setting an energy use goal? I am particularly fond of the Wheaton Eco Test. The test (or target) is really simple. You find out what the average spending is for a particular commodity and then use less than that. If you have time I would recommend that you go and read the essay.

In my post on Dollars and Fridges I referred to the use of my MS6115 plug-in power meter to measure the power consumption of my fridge. I wanted to discuss this tool as well as it’s advantages and shortcomings. The MS6115 is a $22 device that is similar to the US Kill-a-Watt. The basic operation is really simple. You plug in the MS6115 into a power outlet and then plug the device you want to investigate into the MS6115.

The Jevon’s Paradox refers to a term in economics whereby an increase in efficiency, with regards to the use of a resource, does not result in reduced use of that resource but an increase. William Stanley Jevons observed this 150 years ago when increases in the efficiency of coal use resulted in increases in the use of coal. I have some first hand experience with the Jevon’s Paradox. In most modern day homes you will find LED lighting.

I made a word cloud of all the posts on The Archdruid Report from the 1st post up until August 2015. Click for a larger image. Made using Processing and Wordcram.