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The Cool Down is mainstream America's guide to a cleaner, cooler future, making it easy for people from all walks of life to help themselves while helping the planet.
- 14,195articles · 365d
- 1+ hour agolatest article
- Sep 13, 2025earliest in window
- 90%with images
- 363avg words
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News
Homeowner with aging solar panels asks where lost wattage goes: amps, volts, or both?
13+ hour, 19+ min ago (385+ words) Even when an older panel no longer reaches its original rating, it can still have practical value. An owner trying to squeeze a little more life out of aging solar panels raised a question many homeowners eventually face: When old…...
German woman caught stuffing pet snake in train bin after it became 'too boring and too expensive"
5+ hour, 44+ min ago (373+ words) Police said she had planned to act as though she had simply discovered it there before giving it to train staff. A woman in Germany is under investigation after police said she sealed her pet snake inside a tied plastic…...
Australian solar owner asks how to make the best use of five spare panels off-grid
2+ day, 22+ hour ago (689+ words) "This all started when I was thinking about getting an EV." Spare solar panels can seem like an easy way to cut utility bills — until the cost of energy storage and hardware math complicate things. That was the situation facing…...
Homeowner puts tiny opossum outside, then it moves back into a bedroom dresser drawer
4+ day, 10+ hour ago (542+ words) The OP's room offered both easy access and a warmer place to shelter. When a homeowner went looking for the source of a noise coming from behind their bedroom dresser, they assumed they would find one of their cats. Instead,…...
Homeowner fears raccoon is trapped in backyard box, then hidden camera catches it leaving nightly
4+ day, 11+ hour ago (616+ words) "She found herself a really nice, secure little den." A homeowner who feared a raccoon might be trapped inside a backyard box discovered that the animal had turned the container into a temporary den and was leaving on its own…...
North Carolina resident saves baby raccoon from dog's mouth, scrambles to find a rehabber
1+ week, 21+ hour ago (568+ words) "I have no idea what I'm doing or if I even should be doing this." One resident in western North Carolina experienced the "surprise of a lifetime" when his dog returned home with a live baby raccoon in its mouth,…...
Texas off-grid owner says solar output falls 12%-20% when panels hit 140 degrees
1+ week, 1+ day ago (557+ words) "You're going to see lower panel output right when the demand is the highest." Very hot weather can cut into a home's solar production, leaving systems less efficient during the same summer stretches when electricity use tends to surge. That…...
Snake found beneath patient's bed shakes southern Spain hospital for second time
1+ week, 5+ day ago (267+ words) Investigators are checking the hospital's patios and nearby outdoor areas as possible entry routes. Patients and staff at Hospital Alto Guadalquivir in Andújar, in Spain's Jaén province, were reportedly left shaken after a snake was found beneath a patient's bed…...
Rising power bills send homeowner to solar, despite shaded roof issue
1+ week, 6+ day ago (479+ words) "I originally thought [the large oak tree] would make solar basically pointless, but with electricity prices going up, I'm looking into it again." Surging utility bills had one homeowner looking at solar again, but a large tree casting afternoon shade…...
Reddit was the internet's 'last real place' — then came AI slop
1+ week, 6+ day ago (433+ words) Skepticism is increasingly becoming a basic digital survival skill. For many people, the modern internet can feel less like a useful tool and more like an obstacle course of ads, affiliate links, AI-generated summaries, and sponsored recommendations. Reddit has long…...