In a feng shui seminar I once took, teacher Nancy Santo Pietro told us to always unplug appliances when they weren’t in use because they can still produce an electro-magnetic field that can create health problems over time (ranging from subtle to severe depending upon length and proxmity of exposure, plus one’s sensitivity).

I do believe that sleeping with your head close to a digital alarm clock for 50 years is not a great idea, but the notion that appliances drain energy from an outlet when turned off seemed incredible to me. It was one of those bits of information I intentionally go to workshops to gather, but then can’t deal with right away.

Well, guess what? In the wake of last week’s heat wave, an article in today’s New York Times explains how televisions, computers, cell phone chargers and other common appliances do indeed use electrical current when off and hanging out in “standby” mode. While the newspaper approaches the topic purely from the standpoint of energy conservation, the feng shui/EMF wisdom is lingering in there.

Any way you cut it, it IS best to unplug appliances when not in use, when possible. What a hassle. But what do you know…