diy solar

diy solar

What Can I personally do to help against climate change?

Zjohn could have said:
Due to the high lifetime emissions from vehicle ownership (be they mostly embedded emissions in EVs or expelled emissions from ICEVs), then reducing the number of vehicles overall is the aim. In essence it's about consuming less overall.

We can personally help with that by:
- where possible don't replace your car at all, nor buy one (EV or ICE) to begin with
- find and use alternative lower carbon emission transport options like the active (cycle, walk) and public transport options already mentioned on this thread
- if you do need to use a vehicle, then instead of owning one then hire/borrow/share/taxi/uber, helping to reduce the number of vehicles overall
- if a multi-car household then drop to a single car household, if a zero-car household isn't feasible for you
- have your old car(s) disposed of in an environmentally sensitive way

But of course these suggestions are not options open to everyone as clearly vehicles are required for many to perform their work, e.g. tradespeople, or live in locations where alternative options are not viable/practical/available as well as various other factors.

So if you do require a vehicle then:
- choose a smaller, more efficient vehicle
- if it's an EV then choose one with a smaller battery (accept a lower range and plan accordingly)
- use low carbon/renewable sources of energy to charge

The embedded carbon cost of EVs is definitely an issue, mainly the battery which is very emissions intensive to manufacture. So much so that an EV very well may have significantly higher lifetime emissions compared with an ICEV. But it can also be lower. It's dependent on many things.

Unfortunately it is not quite so straightforward to know which applies to an individual case.

As a rule of thumb, the more km driven per kWh of EV battery where the energy supply is low carbon, the greater the chance it is going to be of net carbon benefit compared to an ICEV, but having a vehicle in the first place (EV or ICEV) = big carbon cost to be avoided if possible.
 
My plan to help this Earth a bit requires that I be dirty for awhile more though... I bought share in an agricultural co-op who has eventual plans to de-desertify an entire surrounding region in the Utah West Desert, we are all moving out to an area that is somewhat barren but very fertile where there is lots of water underneath and we have excellent water rights, we are learning to build and live off-grid, and self-reliant, to produce our own food, build passive homes that don't require furnaces or AC and can maintain within 10 degrees indoors all year round. Passive greenhouses, etc...

Just one problem, there is nothing out there now. I had to buy an Isuzu commercial box truck with a 7.3L diesel engine in it so I can drive around town and collect free barrels and free pallets and lots of other supplies and building materials to bring out to my property and I have a million other things I need to move out to the lot so I can build a homestead.

I someday hope I can arrive at a point where I will never need to drive again, but city is around 2 hours away. We also need to truck a bunch of baby trees out there to plant on the surrounding BLM lands and whatnot else. For now, I rent an apt in the city until I get a passive home built on the homestead to live in.

For now, I have to keep on trucking along, I do have my whole solar setup parts and ready for install. It is not as easy as saying, let me go dismantle my car hehe. I do have a Prius I drive around mostly when I don't need the big truck. I turn off lights when I'm not in a room. I just do the best I can and try to think of any little way that can help where possible.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Dzl
where there is lots of water underneath and we have excellent water rights
Is that a sustainably renewable water supply?

So many agricultural areas in Australia have used bored water supply and now have hideous salination problems across large swathes of the country and have been ruined for generations.
 
Is that a sustainably renewable water supply?

So many agricultural areas in Australia have used bored water supply and now have hideous salination problems across large swathes of the country and have been ruined for generations.

Supposedly, there is an underground 'river' with all the water coming from the tall mountains on the South (which get a lot of snow in the Winters), and the underground water flow goes up North to our ranch. Our 1245 acre ranch for the co-op has excellent water rights, which translates to 6 acre-feet per shareholder for each 2 acre lot in that ranch (250 lots total).

We as shareholders look at wanting to preserve our water usage so as to not over-tap into the water table, however, the county/state and their silly rules they make us follow, say we need to show that we use a certain amount of water and are making us use 'x' amount of water at minimum or they say they will retract our water rights. I just can't wrap my head around this demand.

I don't have all the numbers but I guess they say it is so much water that we are basically forced to run the big pivot sprinklers we have on the 500 acres shared co-op ranch land (aka, traditional farming), and it looks like we will have to plant some kind of crop like alfalfa or something and the county will come out and check to confirm we are using 'x' amount of water or they will remove our water rights. They have no concept of water preservation.

We are hoping that someday we could de-desertify the whole area, like get more trees and ground cover up on the surrounding mountains to the East and West of our valley, so perhaps we could wake up local streams for year-round water flow into a lake in the valley, but for now the rivers only flow when we get flash flooding. It looks promising if we can get enough shareholders and potential government grants to help on it, but right now it all seems like a dream we shareholders have.

So I guess for now, we have to keel over to the county and state water rules and use millions of gallons of water to run the pivots. We have not tried running these pivots yet (have to get 2 big industrial diesel motors running, which haven't run in years), but we will have to get them going this coming Spring/Summer or else they will cut our water rights, since they know what is best for us and of course they surely have future sustainability in mind. :geek:
 
Last edited:
So I guess for now, we have to keel over to the county and state water rules and use millions of gallons of water to run the pivots. We have not tried running these pivots yet (have to get 2 big industrial diesel motors running, which haven't run in years), but we will have to get them going this coming Spring/Summer or else they will cut our water rights, since they know what is best for us and of course they surely have future sustainability in mind.
I've been working on a concept to add a part to pivots to enable intensive grazing. Think of a watch, the pivot is one had & then there would be one more. The other would be a fence that moves like the pivot. They need to move independent of each other.

Razing livestock on healthy grass solves the methane issue. Healthy grass sequesters methane. Getting cows off feed lots & onto healthy grass is crucial. Livestock can also be used to repair land.

Running the pivots on solar would be the way to not burn all that diesel. Agrophotovoltaics would be the the absolute best for that application.
 
I've been working on a concept to add a part to pivots to enable intensive grazing. Think of a watch, the pivot is one had & then there would be one more. The other would be a fence that moves like the pivot. They need to move independent of each other.

Razing livestock on healthy grass solves the methane issue. Healthy grass sequesters methane. Getting cows off feed lots & onto healthy grass is crucial. Livestock can also be used to repair land.

Running the pivots on solar would be the way to not burn all that diesel. Agrophotovoltaics would be the the absolute best for that application.

Sounds interesting, I have seen all the videos from Allen Savory on the holistic ranching strategy, and do know we would like to integrate those concepts into our co-op ranch. We do have several challenges to figure out, like each shareholder has a 2 acre private parcel, and we have a 500 acre shared parcel in which all shareholders vote on how to use as a collective. It brings an interesting concept of how we can rotate shared co-op livestock through shareholder's private lands, and through the commons area, and how to best utilize the pivots and all that.

We are still in early stages of our project (as only 15 shareholders currently living full-time out there), so there are still a lot of unknowns in regards to how our project will unfold and if we can make some kind of eventual 'utopian paradise' out of the place. For right now, it just seems like a lot of hard work with no end in sight, but our optimism is high so that is good i suppose...

I know I'm gonna burn a lot of diesel though in the meantime, during the transition to being a fully off-grid, tree-hugger... One concern as well regarding the pivots, is watering during the daytime using solar for power, has the highest level of evaporation. Would be nice to have better large scale batteries (like the Ambri or similar: https://ambri.com/technology/ ), however, the cost is prohibitive, it would be nice to water at night time or in early morning during times of low evaporation... Still lots of challenges to work out sustainable solutions for.
 
...[g]Razing livestock on healthy grass solves the methane issue....
Had to look that one up, doesn't sound like any diet/pill solves the issue ... from ref:
It's complicated.
They say the carbon footprint from either method depends on the weather. These guys say grass-fed can produce 20% less, these guys 43% reduction. These guys say beano for bovines is a 30% reduction. Wonder what happens if you do both?

Well, they offer tax incentives for solar/wind/EVs... perhaps one for Beyond Meat or a mandate that all federal cafeterias will replace ground beef with Impossible Burger? ; -)
 
Had to look that one up, doesn't sound like any diet/pill solves the issue ... from ref:
Cows still fart/burp. If they are on healthy grass, the grass pulls the methane from the air, Joel Salatin

perhaps one for Beyond Meat or a mandate that all federal cafeterias will replace ground beef with Impossible Burger
Those products are not good for over 50% of humans. Blood type O is not supposed to eat gluten.

The systems have to change to really fix earth. Finite resources & infinite growth don't equate. Chemical farming is killing the planet.
 
Last edited:
Those products are not good for over 50% of humans. Blood type O is not supposed to eat gluten.

Someone's been pulling your leg... they're gluten free ref:
Our Beyond Burger is made of quality ingredients—like peas and brown rice—and a simple process to turn them into great-tasting meat. Like all of our products, the Beyond Burger is made with no GMOs, soy or gluten.

ah! Possibly the old formulation of the Impossible Burger (it used wheat protein which has some gluten)? Nowadays only their chicken nugget recipes have gluten with the crispy exterior.
The current Impossible™ Burger recipe (a.k.a. Impossible Burger 2.0), Impossible™ Sausage Made From Plants, and Impossible™ Pork Made From Plants have no gluten-containing ingredients.

Coupons!

Stumbled across a $1 coupon (limit two per trip) while looking this up. Not sure if it's still active, but looks like you get a $2 coupon if you sign up for the newsletter.

I'll be... my nearby BK not only has the Impossible Burger, but it's only $2 on Wednesdays. Have to sign up for the coupon. Today's Wednesday...possibly BK for lunch?

Save the planet and get an inexpensive sandwich!
1636547747647.png
 
My plan to help this Earth a bit requires that I be dirty for awhile more though... I bought share in an agricultural co-op who has eventual plans to de-desertify an entire surrounding region in the Utah West Desert, we are all moving out to an area that is somewhat barren but very fertile where there is lots of water underneath and we have excellent water rights, we are learning to build and live off-grid, and self-reliant, to produce our own food, build passive homes that don't require furnaces or AC and can maintain within 10 degrees indoors all year round. Passive greenhouses, etc...
sounds like a fun project and a hobby farm, such good resources: fertile soil, water and of course plenty of sunshine. Our poor soil fertility is improving year by year with autumn leaves & composting. But a higher water table would really facilitate geothermal heat storage. Looking forward to the day when oil/gas drilling experts start applying the horizontal boring techniques for geothermal storage (store summer heat while cooling in-door and reverse in winter)

Just one problem, there is nothing out there now. I had to buy an Isuzu commercial box truck with a 7.3L diesel engine in it so I can drive around town and collect free barrels and free pallets and lots of other supplies and building materials to bring out to my property and I have a million other things I need to move out to the lot so I can build a homestead.
the upcoming Ford e150 Lightning would work for you here, been feeding my side Lightning piggy bank. It may even serve as residence battery pack, the 7kw 240vac e-power source is quite adequate

There's a lot an individual can do on a personal level, and it's surprising how little of an effort. And as have been posted, it saves $$ and generally healthier
 
Can we keep such statements to real verifiable science, not links to some seller of the latest fad diet book?
I'd post more reliable info but it's off-topic.
1st book was written in the 1970's by a guy doing science during the 1960's..... Fat people are bad for the environment. Helping people get into shape is key to stopping global warming & something you can do yourself. Whats your BMI?

Someone's been pulling your leg... they're gluten free ref:
I see. It was the old one. Coconut oil is not good for O tho

ah! Possibly the old formulation of the Impossible Burger (it used wheat protein which has some gluten)? Nowadays only their chicken nugget recipes have gluten with the crispy exterior.
There are also other ingredients not good for O in there, like potato

Gluten also is usually covered in glyphosate. Meat is key to blood type o health. Again, cows are a critical part of fixing a lot of degraded grass lands. Cows on healthy grass is a +.

Only thing that will stop global warming is to stop the system of profit. Profit is the wrong metric to run a planet on. Human health is the intelligent metric to run the earth on. The new system can't be brought to us with guns & no one does fake work. Its called a resource based economy. Think of it this way. All of the worlds systems are older than electricity. Just blockchain tech alone could make the earth a fair place for all without the need for currency. RBE is the system built by engineers, not lawyers. RBE has no lawyers. Imagine a world collaborating not competing, every human born has a place & a purpose. We totally have the tech & ability to build a awesome world. But 70% of the humans live in a fantasy world with imaginary friends with super powers.
 
Last edited:
...power you cede to them...Just wondering if it's ok to have an honest discussion here ?
No... this thread isn't to discuss if climate change is real or not, about social injustice, ceding power, communism or capitalism, etc.

This thread is exclusively for ideas as to what one can do personally assuming it's real. There is a thread about climate change already, and of course anyone can start up another thread to talk about anything they want. But let's please try to keep this one as focused as possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dzl
sounds like a fun project and a hobby farm, such good resources: fertile soil, water and of course plenty of sunshine. Our poor soil fertility is improving year by year with autumn leaves & composting. But a higher water table would really facilitate geothermal heat storage. Looking forward to the day when oil/gas drilling experts start applying the horizontal boring techniques for geothermal storage (store summer heat while cooling in-door and reverse in winter)


the upcoming Ford e150 Lightning would work for you here, been feeding my side Lightning piggy bank. It may even serve as residence battery pack, the 7kw 240vac e-power source is quite adequate

There's a lot an individual can do on a personal level, and it's surprising how little of an effort. And as have been posted, it saves $$ and generally healthier

Great ideas for sure. The only problem with the e150 is it doesn't have a GVW rating of 19,500 lbs like my 20' box truck, and it isn't EMP hardened, not to mention, I just can't afford one hehe... They do seem cool, but I'd have to wait for years until there are used ones floating around, I've only ever bought one new vehicle in my life, and probably won't ever do that again. They devalue too much in the first couple years... ✌️

That was the reason I went this route, because a new normal size $40k truck would require I also buy another $10k trailer, where the commercial 20' box truck only cost $10k and hauls a lot more for its cost, and is built commercial quality, simple to work on, mechanical diesel...
 
Last edited:
Please try and keep posts on-topic, it's about what individuals can do assuming climate change is real. Please post questions/discussions about if climate change is real or not to other threads (e.g., Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?), the humor in the humor forum, and please let's not feed the trolls and make even more work for the mods.

I understand anything about climate change can be overpowering when you've got something to say... that's all cool... but please say it in an appropriate thread or start your own thread to discuss it.

Thanks! ?
 
1st book was written in the 1970's by a guy doing science during the 1960's
It's an ad for a fad diet book. One of tens thousands. We'd do the environment a bigger favour by not buying this shit so it doesn't waste precious resources and encourage every other faddist to write their version of why their stupid version of life is the best, latest, greatest way to feel fabulous about yourself, when really it's just more trite tedious nonsense.

Fat people are bad for the environment. Helping people get into shape is key to stopping global warming & something you can do yourself.
I'm overweight. But I ate a lot more when I was an athlete. I had to due to the calorific demands of the sport. Not sure how that squares with being better for the planet.

But you know, after a training accident I had a leg amputation and that kinda made it a bit harder. I did still manage to race after that, and pretty well even setting a national abled bodied record on the velodrome but life after being an athlete is a tricky transition. Off to the rehab gym now.

I had a career helping people prepare for athletic demands of my sport, applied exercise physiology as well as psychological support, applied physics (aerodynamics) and biomechanics. Keeping them clear of fads and bullshit was part of the job.

Whats your BMI?
None of your <deleted> business.

Have a nice day.
 
Last edited:
This week, I'm heating my house by dehydrating produce foods. Instead of running the electric heaters, I fired up the dehydrators and have about a dozen batches of food to process.. each dehydrator is pumping out about 500 watts with heater and fan.
 
Updated Index to Ideas
The best ideas will not only be good for the environment but also save you money! Here's a list of those with little (if any) austerity:

Reordered them a bit, Let me know if I missed any!
I really like our GeoSpring HeatPump water heater, set to use heatpump exclusively, pulling only 600-watt, totally reduced our propane usage (last filled in 2013). Most of the "green" steps are motivated by my cheapskate ways, but getting free stuff is just cool (like hanging out my laundry). Not sure if ok to post a link, but read this today and felt a bit uplifted:

 

Don't shovel your blacktop driveway​


Radiant energy incident on the earth's surface occurs principally in two broad bands: solar or shortwave radiation (0.3-2.8 pm) and thermal or longwave radiation (5-40 pm). The main feature of snow in the shortwave spectral range is its very high reflectance, especially over the visible spectrum, which explains its white color. The spectrally averaged reflectivity of solar radiation incident on snow, or snow albedo, is of major importance to climate change. Snow albedo ranges between about 0.50 and 0.90, and decreases with grain size, the angle of solar incidence, impurities, and the ratio of direct to diffuse sunlight. ref
This idea has nothing at all to do with the state of my back after shoveling (actually, haven't done it since moving out of Colorado ; -)

Cold but no snow? DIY your own!

The Math

But how much energy is it anyway? Is this a joke?

Honestly .... I don't know. But if albedo changes from glaciers melting is an issue to increase the rate of climate change, why wouldn't making things more reflective help? With a little googling found that LA started painting some of their streets white.

Let's say the winter insolation is 1.5, you have a 12' wide by 100' blacktop driveway (110 m²). Let's say snow reflects 70% and blacktop 20%.
So, over two months that's 1.5/d x 1 kW/m² x 110 m² x (.70 - .20) x 60 d = 5 MWh of reflected energy. That's a lot of energy! Maybe not a big deal if one person did it... but what if everyone did it? Doesn't have to be blacktop...even normal concrete has an albedo of about .4. Grass has an albedo of .3, so snow over the whole yard?

What about Summer?​

Ultrawhite paint reflects 98.1% of sunlight. ref
I can see the HOA complaints now....plus how would you keep road surfaces clean? Hmm, actually painted drives seem to hold up for ~5 years (ref).

Yeah, it's not CO2 removal so doesn't fix stuff like ocean acidification.
Perfect-driveway-paint.jpg

20 sq miles in Nevada Desert​

Wouldn't want to keep it clean, but with an average insolation of 5, Will could have his sooped up solar drones spray paint 20 sq miles of the desert which let's say has an albedo of .4. We'll assume Will is using the paint above, but the drones have a hard time keeping it clean so we'll assume an albedo of .9. 20 sq miles is 5.18e+7 sq meters. so 5/d x 1 kW/m² x 51,800,000 m² x (.90 - .40) x 365 d= 47 terrawatt hours per year rejected back into space.

To put that 20 sq miles into context, the U.S. has about 3 million sq miles of roads in the continental U.S. ref.

Crazy? Maybe... but just possibly someone can think of something to realistically make it work? Sounds like yet another plan B to me.
If not, at the very least you have a reason to put off shoveling. ; -)
 
Last edited:
But how much energy is it anyway? Is this a joke?
It relies on the premise that the reflected energy isn't then mostly absorbed elsewhere in the environment, which in urban areas it often is, on other surfaces or in airborne particulates. IOW it often just ends up heating something else. The fewer airborne particulates the better, especially soot or other dark particulates (which come from fossil fuel emissions, industrial processes and wild fires).

On the other hand white roofs are expected to be a net benefit thorough reduced use of air-conditioning and reducing temperatures in urban heat islands. But it's not necessarily all good as there can be other less desirable effects on rainfall in drier climates.

It can sometimes be hard to sort out what is effective personal action and what isn't. In some cases what seems a no-brainer can be counterintuitively worse.
 
Back
Top