D.I.Y Planet Cooling

[Michaelangelica]

This is apositive step by Dell Computers

In addition to taking a lead in carbon offsets, Dell has one of the best recycling programs in the industry. The company announced a free recycling program three years ago, and in June, it took it a step further. Today, you can send any aging Dell computer back to the company for free--even if you don't buy a new system. And if you do buy a new system, the company will actually send someone to pick up your old, junky PC. Again, this is a free service, and your old PC doesn't have to be a Dell. Several vendors have tried similar programs, but this is the first one I've seen that's so expansive and downright foolproof.

here is another. Although have we decided planting trees is "good: yet?

From now on, whenever you buy a Dell PC, you'll have the option of donating a few dollars toward the planting of a new tree.

Granted, , you might be inclined to think that this is just another way for Dell to take your money, but the company's putting your money to good use. The fee is a token one, to be sure, but it might change the way people think about consumer electronics

. . .

We're not going to solve global warming simply by planting trees. But it's a start.

Costa Living: Plant a Tree For Me - Gearlog

[silverslith]

Ban Incandescent Lamps?

 

No incandecadants in my house. all minifluoros:)

 

Replace electric or gas water heaters with heatpump ones. I think they cut the juice used by 80%

If you've got sun make a solar preheater for your watercylinder.

[Michaelangelica]

No incandecadants in my house. all minifluoros:)

 

Replace electric or gas water heaters with heatpump ones. I think they cut the juice used by 80%:hyper:

If you've got sun make a solar preheater for your watercylinder.

The above article gives many reasons for looking more closely at an incandesant ban

If the powers that be (wherever in the world they are) are serious, then the obvious answer to working out if there are any genuinely worthwhile benefits to a ban on incandescent lamps is fairly simple. Conduct a trial. Select a small town, and choose 50% of randomly selected dwellings to continue the way they are already, and get the other 50% to use CFLs exclusively. No modifications to light fittings, no changes to anything other than the type of lamps used.

 

With careful monitoring of both sets for lamp failures, total energy usage (electricity, gas, heating oil, etc.) and overall satisfaction or otherwise, a realistic set of statistics can then be developed to show exactly what the outcome of a wholesale ban would achieve. This is real science, using a controlled test environment to gather information that can be expected to be reasonably representative of the benefits to the area tested and anywhere else that has similar climate. Data may be extrapolated to determine a realistic potential outcome for other localities.

 

While businesses may be included, many (if not most) will be found to be using conventional tube fluorescent lamps, because of the necessity for good lighting in most areas of business (cinemas, nightclubs and many restaurants being notable exceptions).

 

Such a trial needs to be run for 1 year, and at the end, people will have real data from real homes in a realistic environment.

This is a far cry from the situation at present, where we have a few zealots sprouting figures that either make no sense, are often obviously false, or are simply the same as the (often wrong) figures sprouted by other zealots.

I'm getting rather fed up with some of the claims, as they seem to be based entirely on fantasy. One I saw claimed that "Changing one incandescent lamp for a CFL will save £9 in one year, or £100 over the life of the lamp." (or along those lines - I can't find the quote this time around). Based on those figures, the lamp has to last for over 11 years - a fairly unlikely scenario.

In common with many such claims, the lamp power wasn't mentioned, what it replaced wasn't mentioned, and no supporting data was mentioned either. In other words, the figures claimed have no substance at all - pure horse-feathers.

 

Solar water heaters work well in most of Australia yet you rarely see them.

I am told that 40% of energy use is in making hot water! seems an amazingly high figure?

[silverslith]

The above article gives many reasons for looking more closely at an incandesant ban

 

 

Solar water heaters work well in most of Australia yet you rarely see them.

I am told that 40% of energy use is in making hot water! seems an amazingly high figure?

 

 

Don't know why theres objections to minifloros. Unless its originating from power companies and built in obsolescence addicted manufaturers worried about their profits. I've been using them since 95 including one that stays on in my bathroom all night every night and is still going fine since 95. None have worn out on me but they do eventually get dimmer. I was only getting 2-3 months average out of incandecents in 95, but the electricity was a bit rough at that place. Some of the cheap ones around now are pretty unreliable but its the poor quality control. There were some of these for $NZ10 ($US7) for 5 packs that I stocked up on a few years ago and out of the box only 2-3 of the 5 worked. No probs getting replacements for the faulty ones though and they seem just as good as any if they work to start with. They are 5 times as efficient so only 12-20w is fine. Some fittings are not ideal but the spiral type is fine anywhere.

That 40% figure for hot water is fine by me. You could check it for yourself by turning off your cylinder for a day and recording the meter difference from a normal day. Good solar water heaters even work when its cloudy.

:rolleyes:

[Turtle]

Replace electric or gas water heaters with heatpump ones. I think they cut the juice used by 80%:rolleyes:

 

Are you referring to 'tankless' systems here, or something different? I don't recognize the term 'heatpump ones'.

 

At any rate, here's the skinny on tankless/instantaneous water heaters and their savings. Don't forget to factor in initial costs. :

 

For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, demand water heaters can be 24%–34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. They can be 8%–14% more energy efficient for homes that use a lot of hot water—around 86 gallons per day. You can achieve even greater energy savings of 27%–50% if you install a demand water heater at each hot water outlet.

 

EERE Consumer's Guide: Demand (Tankless or Instantaneous) Water Heaters

[InfiniteNow]

Are you referring to 'tankless' systems here, or something different? I don't recognize the term 'heatpump ones'.

 

Different. Heat pump WHs do have tanks, but use the ambient air.

 

Heat Pump Water Heaters

Tankless Water Heater Buying Guide

 

I was unaware of such a thing as Heat Pump water heaters myself until silverslith's post, so did some Googlin' on it a few days ago. :rolleyes:

[Michaelangelica]

DIY Solutions are thin on the ground.

 

This was one of the better articles I have read in a while

What You Can Do

I got it from care2

Climate Change Solutions: What You can D... - Care2 News Network

Tame the refrigerator monster!

 

Did you know that your friendly refrigerator has a voracious energy appetite? It is the biggest consumer of electricity among household appliances and responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity you use each year.

 

Older refrigerators, as a rule, are far less efficient than the newest ones - as much as 50 percent less efficient. But buying a brand-new, energy-efficient refrigerator is not always in the cards for most of us. Fortunately, other things will help.

 

Don't set the thermostat too high. Lowering the temperature even 1 degree will make a big difference.

Either turn the hot water heater down to 120 degrees, or turn on the "energy conservation" setting. Some manufacturers set water heater thermostats at 140 degrees when most households only require them at 120 or 115 degrees. For each 10 degrees reduction in water temperature, you can save 3-5 percent in energy costs.

Either turn the hot water heater down to 120 degrees, or turn on the "energy conservation" setting. Some manufacturers set water heater thermostats at 140 degrees when most households only require them at 120 or 115 degrees. For each 10 degrees reduction in water temperature, you can save 3-5 percent in energy costs.

[Monomer]

I got it from care2

Climate Change Solutions: What You can D... - Care2 News Network

 

Tame the refrigerator monster!

 

Did you know that your friendly refrigerator has a voracious energy appetite? It is the biggest consumer of electricity among household appliances and responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity you use each year.

 

Older refrigerators, as a rule, are far less efficient than the newest ones - as much as 50 percent less efficient. But buying a brand-new, energy-efficient refrigerator is not always in the cards for most of us. Fortunately, other things will help.

 

Don't set the thermostat too high. Lowering the temperature even 1 degree will make a big difference.

 

 

A knew a guy who worked at the energy information centre and he said to make sure the refrigerator is always full, even if you just fill it with bottles of water. If it's full then less cold air escapes and that's less work the fridge will have to do to replace that lost cold air.

[Monomer]

This was one of the better articles I have read in a while

What You Can Do

 

The bad news is that about 42 percent of your household energy costs go toward just two things - heating and cooling. The good news is that means you have a lot of room to make a difference and even small changes can make dramatic improvements in household fuel efficiency.

 

I see these great energy saving tips often, but they're yet to mention dressing appropriately. My sister would always put the heater on as soon as she was cold, instead of putting on a jumper and a pair of socks. Plenty of other people are like that too. Investing in some thermal underware, some fleecy trackies and a thick pair of socks could help reduce the energy costs. Another idea is snuggle under a quilt or blanket if you're just reading or watching TV.

[Michaelangelica]

A knew a guy who worked at the energy information centre and he said to make sure the refrigerator is always full, even if you just fill it with bottles of water. If it's full then less cold air escapes and that's less work the fridge will have to do to replace that lost cold air.

Great suggestions!

We need lots more like this rather than the whining, 'doom and gloom' of most articles about global warming.

Let's do something, rather than winge.

[Michaelangelica]

It was done in 1993 on a small, experimental scale, by a team lead by Richard Barber and Ken Johnson. They dumped about 500 kg of iron sulfate over a 65 km^2 patch of iron-poor ocean about 400 km southwest of the Galapagos Islands. By their measurements and estimates, this resulted in about 2,500,000 additional kg of carbon being sequestered by the phytoplankton in 2 weeks, the equivalent of about 100 full-grown redwoods.I don’t think sewage contains much iron, so I don’t thinks so.

 

Fortunately, iron is a cheap, plentiful, easy to find mineral. About 5% of the Earth’s crust is iron.

 

Some scientists don’t think ocean iron seeding would work. Others worry that it’s viability could be used as an excuse to other greenhouse gas reduction measures. It’s certainly, IMHO, worth serious study.

 

A few articles on Barber and Johnson experiment: The Iron Hypothesis; Wired 8.11: Dumping Iron; Can Iron-Enriched Oceans Thwart Global Warming?.

.

May 03, 2007

A Plankton-based Carbon Offset

 

Posted by jennifer, at 10:14 PM

 

I'm not sure that dumping tons of iron powder in the ocean is going to stop 'climate change', but I am hopeful it can reduce atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide:

 

"The first commercial venture into growing vast plankton blooms big enough to suck carbon from the atmosphere starts this month.

 

Tons of powdered iron will be poured into the Pacific to induce the growth of blooms big enough to be seen from space. The scheme’s backers believe that the iron seeding technique could radically reduce the carbon in the atmosphere and will open up a multimillion-pound carbon-offsetting industry. Simultaneously, they hope to reverse the decline in plankton levels, which are estimated to have fallen by at least 9 per cent in the past two decades.

 

Iron seeding is thought to work because it provides a crucial nutrient for plankton growth that is missing or in short supply in up to 70 per cent of the world’s oceans.

 

As the phytoplankton multiplies it will absorb large quantities of carbon and, if the trials are a success, much of it will sink to the seabed when the microscopic plants die and sink...

 

Read the complete article here:

Jennifer Marohasy: A Plankton-based Carbon Offset How surge in plankton may be the saviour of mankind-News-World-US & Americas-TimesOnline .

[Michaelangelica]

Use a push reel mower. This offers a non-

polluting solution — powered by you!

;)

A Word in Favor of Push Mowers

There’s no denying that using a power mower

can be a satisfying and enjoyable experience. It’s

quick and effective. It gets the job done.

 

A push mower will also get the job done, and it

offers more subtle satisfactions, such as peace

and quiet. Power mowers create an impenetra-

ble wall of sound around the user and often

reach the ears of neighbors two or three doors

away.

The gentle rasp of a reel mower harms or

offends no one. One can hear birdsong over it.

Push mowers also protect our

health. Per hour of use, gas

mowers emit 11 times more

pollution than late-model cars

Bay-Friendly Gardening Guide - Chapter 4

Interesting newsletter if you are into gardening.

[freeztar]

Have you ever used one of those push mowers?

They are a serious pain in the booty!

They work somewhat well if used frequently, while the grass is short, but once the grass is long it becomes very difficult. Either the blades will get choked or you end up with tall pieces here and there. Argghhh..

 

What about a ban on lawns? :hihi:

That would save CO2 from people sitting on the sofa watching TV rather than exercising with a push mower.

 

I personally despise leaf blowers.

I live in a predominately Mexican neighborhood and in the fall I would wake up EVERY morning to the sound of leaf blowers buzzing all through the neighborhood. My guess is that a lot of these people either work for, or knows someone who works for/owns, a landscaping company (it is very rare to see a landscaper who is not Mexican in Atlanta, and other major US cities I imagine). My theory is that those with the blowers will blow the neighbors' yards out of kindness or some bartering. But anyways...

The noise pollution is atrocious, but what really gets me is that they blow all the leaves into big piles and burn them. They then stand around the fire like they're camping or something. I wish I had taken some pictures of our neighborhood in the fall. There was so much smoke on our street that it was sickening. We stopped going outside in the evenings.

At least with lawn-mowing, they either dump or mulch the clippings.

 

So to bring this full circle, my DIY planet cooling campaign is going to be my personal (attempted at least) production of char and to find some way to educate people in the neighborhood about the benefits of charring as opposed to burning. Like most people, if they can make money off of it (and it is waste [fuel] to them anyways) they will be interested in hearing about it. The challenge is how can people make money off of char for a local market (besides the obvious crop enhancement, but something lowtech DIY). Perhaps this would fit better in the TP threads, but it's on-topic here as well because money motivates people.

I get the sneaking suspicion that this topic has been heavily discussed somewhere in TP land already.

[Michaelangelica]

Have you ever used one of those push mowers?

They are a serious pain in the booty!

They work somewhat well if used frequently, while the grass is short, but once the grass is long it becomes very difficult. Either the blades will get choked or you end up with tall pieces here and there. Argghhh..

Wimp.!

The new ones look quite snazzy and cheap $120.

Much more interesting exercise than Gym-jogging, doing weights, etc

Then, if I had an acre of lawn, I might have a different opinion

 

What about a ban on lawns? :doh:

Don't be mean! :Guns:

Lawns are nice, even if we can't afford to feed and water them.:rain:

 

 

I personally despise leaf blowers. :evil:

Fairly useless too. What's wrong with a rake?

(Warning Quirky fact An Australian Bushfire fighter has adapted a leaf Blower to fight fires. Sounds crazy at first until you think of blowing out candles on a cake):):candle::candle:

but what really gets me is that they blow all the leaves into big piles and burn them. :eek: They then stand around the fire like they're camping or something. I wish I had taken some pictures of our neighborhood in the fall. There was so much smoke on our street that it was sickening. We stopped going outside in the evenings.

At least with lawn-mowing, they either dump or mulch the clippings.

:turtle: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

:fire:It used to be like that in sydney 25-30 years ago every sunday the lawn would be mowed and then burnt (green) thousands of little -very smokey- fires everywhere.

I belonged to an organic garden group and offered to give to the council a free info brocure on using clippings as mulch and compost if they would send it out with the rate bills. :cup:

They looked at us as if we were alien :Alien: crackpots with leprosy. Couldn't get rid of us quickly enough.

Now burning is banned and they have education officers teaching people to compost. How things can change!

charring as opposed to burning. Like most people, money motivates people.

Anything is better than burning. Make a list of the toxic chemicals in smoke and print a few for letterboxes.

:cup:

It annoys me when I see people treating nature like they would treat their homes. For example, The carpet has to be vacumed so too the lawn. Why? Far better to leave the clippings on the lawn to 'fertilise' it.

:eek:

Nature is not perfect there are dead bits everywhere; thats what happens.

 

:soapbox:This attitude extends to people buying huge plastic plants because they always look perfect. They use up oil in manufacture and do nothing for anybody. They are lies.

 

Wake up,(not you freeztar) nature isn't perfect. So a leaf is eaten so a butterfly lives; so what? that is nature-Nature is either rotting or rooting (in all senses of the word).

[Boerseun]

Burning leaves shouldn't be a bad thing in the Big Sheme of Things. You're simply sending carbon back into the atmosphere which was taken out a season ago. It does, however, make for a short-term unpleasantness.

 

Lawns shouldn't be banned! Grasses (all kinds) are one of the fastest-growing plants! Watering them might be a bit of a problem, seeing as evaporation into the atmosphere during non-rainy periods will increase the moisture content of the atmosphere, water vapour being a greenhouse gas too, of course.

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I propose we forget about the whole sorry mess and go for a beer. Whaddaya say?

[freeztar]

Wimp.!

The new ones look quite snazzy and cheap $120.

Much more interesting exercise than Gym-jogging, doing weights, etc

Then, if I had an acre of lawn, I might have a different opinion

 

I didn't have anywhere close to an acre where I was renting, but I was...renting. Not too much fun for me to mow grass for someone else and not get paid, neigh, get penalized if I don't. Perhaps that is my stigmatism. :evil:

 

Don't be mean!

Lawns are nice, even if we can't afford to feed and water them.

 

If a lawn was here right now, I would slap it in the face (and I'm a pacifist).

But seriously, lawns are taking over our native habitat. We cut the grass before it goes to seed, so it is of little value to birds or any other wildlife. We certainly don't use the potential of grass in lawns.

Neighborhood associations baffle me. A friend of mine lives in a suburban neighborhood that takes neighborhood hygenics to the OCD level. You are not alowed to alter your yard in any way without consulting their "design team". The lawn is so mighty that nothing must disturb the amber waves of grain neon green glow of chemlawn.

 

 

What's wrong with a rake?

 

You try stepping on one! Nyack! Nyack! Nyack!

 

(Warning Quirky fact An Australian Bushfire fighter has adapted a leaf Blower to fight fires. Sounds crazy at first until you think of blowing out candles on a cake):hihi::hihi::hihi:

 

It did sound crazy until I heard it was an Australian, and then I knew it was crazy.

 

I belonged to an organic garden group and offered to give to the council a free info brocure on using clippings as mulch and compost if they would send it out with the rate bills.

They looked at us as if we were alien crackpots with leprosy. Couldn't get rid of us quickly enough.

 

typical...<sigh>

Now burning is banned and they have education officers teaching people to compost. How things can change!:cup:

 

:rain:

It annoys me when I see people treating nature like they would treat their homes.

 

Let's take out a second mortgage! :eek:

 

It annoys me when I see people treating Nature like it's not their home.

 

:soapbox:This attitude extends to people buying huge plastic plants because they always look perfect. They use up oil in manufacture and do nothing for anybody. They are lies. :cup: :Alien:

I wouldn't say they are worthless to everybody because I bet you most people can't tell the difference between a real plant and a fake plant (within reason). If their senses are subconsciously tricked into believing their environment to be orderly and perfect, then they too will follow that trend. Plastic people make plastic plants.

Wake up,(not you freeztar) nature isn't perfect. So a leaf is eaten so a butterfly lives; so what? that is nature-Nature is either rotting or rooting (in all senses of the word).:)

 

Nature may not be perfect in our eyes (whatever perfect means), but it seems to be a perfect machine, imho.

A machine that is capable of self sustenance, regeneration, cosmic protection, and evolution.

 

---

And back from left field...

I always try to carry my grocery items by hand if possible. I always refuse a bag unless absolutely necessary. What sucks is when they bag my single toothbrush and I say I don't need a bag for it so they take the bag and throw it away.

And who needs an 18-inch receipt for 2 small items? If I have to fold the receipt more than once to get it in my pocket, then I either spent a lot of money or something is wrong. These types of things seem easy to fix because the grocer could save bundles by not excessively using paper and ink, not too mention machine-time. Too bad the advertisers pay more.

 

Is anyone familiar with Sea Foam? A friend suggested it to me to remove carbon from the engine of my car. I'm all about keeping my engine tip-top, but I'm assuming this cleaned-out carbon exits the vehicle at some point, either by oil or exhaust, or both. Anyone know how it works exactly? Could it make my car burn cleaner? (they claim it helps you pass emissions tests)

 

Time for bed....zzzzzzz

[Michaelangelica]

Burning leaves shouldn't be a bad thing in the Big Sheme of Things. You're simply sending carbon back into the atmosphere which was taken out a season ago. It does, however, make for a short-term unpleasantness.

There is some pretty toxic stuff in smoke of all kinds.

Lawns shouldn't be banned! Grasses (all kinds) are one of the fastest-growing plants! Watering them might be a bit of a problem, seeing as evaporation into the atmosphere during non-rainy periods will increase the moisture content of the atmosphere, water vapour being a greenhouse gas too, of course.

I am told most lawns and verges in Brisbane have died -no water- level 5 restrictions (140 litres a day). We have had some good rains in NSW

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I propose we forget about the whole sorry mess and go for a beer. Whaddaya say?

LOL; Sounds good to me.

Drink beer while Rome burns!

(Um. . . is that from an ecologically friendly brewery?)