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1500 questions
5
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2 answers
How to manage a largish hugelkultur?
As part of the site clearance for the in-fill house I'm building at the rear of the section I have had to remove a 100 year plus old pine ( which the neighbour wanted to remove as he felt it was threatening his house ) as well as a number of self…
Graham Chiu
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Cost benefit analysis of a PV array with racking to set optimal angle, vs a larger array
I'm thinking of installing some panels on the roof. It's unshaded but only pitched at 5 degrees on long run roofing iron.
Would I be better off racking at an angle to optimize for winter sun, or just lie them flat and add more panels to compensate…
Graham Chiu
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5
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3 answers
How to recycle almond shells?
I have seen this related question - but it was about the almond peels and not their shells:
How do I recycle these? My relatives advised me to burn it all up, as it drives away mosquitoes[citation needed]. Others said to just bury it into the soil…
Gaurang Tandon
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5
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1 answer
Environmental concerns of a plastic bottle boat?
Having found several images of boats constructed primarily of plastic bottles, the boy scout within me was interested by the idea. However, I know that plastic bottles biodegrade in sunlight, and the byproducts of plastic biodegration are a major…
Benjamin
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1 answer
How deep should my bedding be in my bucket vermicomposter?
I plan to set up my first vermi-composting system using red wigglers in my garage, modeled after the one shown by YouTuber Larry Hall (video link). One minor difference is that I'll use two 5-gallon (20L) buckets instead of one. Top for…
Jeff Meyers
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5
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1 answer
Research on consumer behavior and waste management
I am teaching a class on waste management to students who are primarily environmental management masters students. For one of the sessions I plan to discuss the role of consumer/waste generator behavior in the waste management system. A colleague…
orschiro
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How much, if any, does resolution effect the net power consumption of watching online video?
I watch a lot of online video. I'd assume that for example videos on Youtube in 720p use less power than the same videos in 1080p. I think this might be because:
more power is used by sending network to read more data and then send it
more power is…
Joel Peltonen
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5
votes
3 answers
Newer heat pump vs new space heaters in Seattle winter
I see similar questions to this one, but mine is slightly different, so here goes:
I live in Seattle, where the winters are mild, with days in the 40s°F (4-10°C) and nights in the low 30s°F (around -1°C) at worst. I live in an 8-bedroom house with…
DWD
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5
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4 answers
Will bitcoin help us to decentralise our communities and help us live a more sustainably
From a little bit of research on bitcoin, I have discovered that they remove the centralised middle man from individuals transactions ie. a Bank, PayPal, ect.. and make it easier to transfer money peer to peer.
Obviously bitcoin is not ready to go…
ben
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5
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5 answers
How to sustainably dispose of or break down used cooking oils?
I have recently wondered what I should be doing with my used kitchen oils having seen a news article about an enormous fatberg clogging the sewer in London.
Obviously putting it down the sink really doesn't do anyone any good for the above reason.…
Andy Furniss
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5
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2 answers
Will customer preference drive adoption of energy storage the same way as EVs and solar power?
A recent blog post lampooned the fact that the International Energy Agency has under-estimated the growth of solar energy in every single one of their predictions from 1994 to 2016.
In the electric vehicle world, in September 2017 Tesla sold more…
LShaver
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5
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2 answers
Can you use worm bait for a garden
I'm starting a garden and wondering if worm that are sold for fishing bait can be used in a garden? I'm adding corn meal peels, manure, etc, into the soil.
J_red
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What the best plant to grow on human waste and fix CO2?
My goal is to convert human waste into (less disgusting and more useful) plant mass while decreasing CO2 (for the sake of it) and I want to find seriously the most proper plant for that (I would think is kind of an invasive plant due to its…
Alex
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1 answer
Do totally Chlorine free (TCF) toilet papers exist?
Many online resources suggest that processed Chlorine free (PCF) and TCF toilet papers are more environmentally friendly than elemental Chlorine free (ECF) toilet papers. Although I can find a lot of actually existing PCF products, I couldn't find…
xuhdev
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5
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1 answer
Is heating with candles economically and/or ecologically worthwhile?
Considering my home doesn't have a heating system nor chimneys, I wonder if it's worthwhile to heat using only candles. There are multiple dimensions to consider:
Does it cost less than electric heating? Does it maybe even cost less than oil, gas…
dessert
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