Sustainable Living Stack Exchange
Sustainable Living Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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2 answers

Sustainability concerns with digging a well

I am planning my sustainable homestead. In the planning I am incorporating humanure and grey-water recycling, as well as rain water irrigation. But I will need a source of fresh water for drinking and supplementing the recycled water supply. What…
user141
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2 answers

How do I calculate if it is more sustainable to have my groceries delivered?

I have been wondering recently whether having my groceries delivered is a net ecological benefit or not. It is highly likely that the overall environmental impact of the diesel used to delivery my groceries, when amortised over all of the…
Mark Booth
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Use waste heat of electrical appliances in place of traditional heating?

Does it make sense to keep electrical appliances turned on, or at least not turned off, during the winter as a partial replacement for traditional heating? I'm thinking in particular of computers, screens, audio and video equipment and home…
Jortstek
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2 answers

Do switchable sockets left "on" use electricity if there's nothing plugged in?

My flat is fitted with switchable sockets as per below: Please settle an argument a friend and I are having: if a socket is switched "on", is it wasting electricity if nothing is actually plugged into it? If so, any idea how much? Thank you!
aendra
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Sustainably grown white button mushrooms at home; what sort of material to use?

I've read elsewhere that I can grow shiitake mushrooms by soaking logs/branches, drilling holes in them and inserting spores into the holes. Since I already have some white button mushrooms from the supermarket, I'm wondering whether using spores…
Highly Irregular
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Does orange essential oil create formaldehyde when exposed to ozone?

I recently found this article by EWG, putting limonene-containing cleaners on the bad list of toxic household cleaners: http://www.ewg.org/cleaners/hallofshame/ The claim is that limonene reacts with trace levels of indoor ozone to produce…
Sabotenderizer
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How effective are rotary composters

We now have a large house (a guesthouse) with capacity for generating a lot of compostable waste. At our previous house we used a number of static compost bins, turning between them. In the new house we'd like to accelerate the process for some…
Cheeseminer
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3 answers

How can I can sustainably use the biomass of garden weeds?

When pulling out weeds in the vege patch, I want to think of more ways that I can put it to good use that might be even better than merely letting it break down above the ground on its own (assuming you are on a property where you are responsible…
user487
11
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1 answer

What are the sustainability issues in moving house?

We are moving house from one side of the UK to the other. The financial costs of doing so have raised the facetious question would it not be cheaper to sell everything here and buy it again, there? Of course that's not going to happen for all…
Cheeseminer
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Reducing the setpoint by 1 degree C will save 7% energy: what's the origin of that claim?

I often hear a claim saying that reducing the thermostat's setpoint by one degree C will reduce the overall yearly energy consumption by 7%. I've heard heating control manufacturers, energy consultants, and heating installers repeat this…
lindelof
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Does it matter where I charge my device?

I have a number of small devices that can be charged in my car (using a charger that plugs into the car's electrical system and is powered by the car's gasoline engine) or my home (using electricity supplied by my local grid.) Does charging a phone…
Kate Gregory
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4 answers

How much wood can I burn sustainably, carbon neutral and in an ecologically responsible way from a forest?

While wood can - in theory - be a carbon neutral fuel, in practice burning wood creates a huge carbon debt and it may take a long time for all the carbon released by logging, soil degradation and so on to be reabsorbed. Additionally, one has to take…
mart
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How can I tell whether my earthworms are healthy?

I keep a vermicompost bin and I sometimes worry that I haven't given the worms enough food or if it's not wet enough. How can I keep track of the worm's general health?
tM --
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What is the state of "artifical photosynthesis" technology, as at March 2014?

I've been hearing a lot in the news about artificial photosynthesis processes that can use energy from sunlight to split water and produce synthetic fuel. Sounds pretty exciting, but being a non-physicist, I'm having some trouble separating the…
Yumecosmos
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Is it a good idea to throw organic waste in a river?

I live in an apartment in an urban area that doesn't offer municipal compost. I store my food waste in a paper bag in my freezer. When the bag is full, I run it over to Whole Foods and dispose of the whole bag in their compost bin. This bin is…
drs
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