A slow cooker ("crock pot") has been something i've been wanting to eventually purchase and learn to use well. It sounds like a pressure cooker has some of the same benefits (and maybe is something very similar in concept).
What Can I personally do to help against climate change?
- Thread starter svetz
- Start date
Ok fine, I’ll do it without emotion. But don’t delete this bec u don’t agree with me. U asked the question not me. Ur asking how we slow climate change? The only answer is we can’t. I’ll ask u a question. Does it make a difference if the climate changes drastically in 20 years or 200 years? In 180 years from now if we just slowed it then why did we just slow it and not stop it?
The only way to stop it is to not cause it. Since we can not stop causing it then we can’t do anything. Is this logic flawed in some way?
The only way to stop it is to not cause it. Since we can not stop causing it then we can’t do anything. Is this logic flawed in some way?
SamIam
New Member
Great thread! I would add to all of the "vote" postings to research your federal, state, county and municipal representatives to see who is beholden to petrochemical and coal interests in any way. These individuals will never ever legislate to reduce our dependence on oil or coal - until they first divest from them.
Sustainably yours,
-SamIam
Sustainably yours,
-SamIam
I was the one that deleted your comment, not the OP, and it was deleted for two reasons (1) being off-topic and (2) being argumentative/disrespectful (calling the people or perspective you disagree with "foolish and pathetic"). It is irrelevant whether I agree with you or not, what matters is not derailing the conversation and learning to word your perspective in a constructive and respectful way.
The topic of this post is, "what can I personally do to help against climate change?" If you have constructive contributions on this topic, that is fine, and if you don't believe in climate change (as your deleted post clearly implied) or want to argue about it, there are a million other places on the internet for you to find that argument, but this thread is not one of them.
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Samsonite801
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2020
- Messages
- 2,988
I see your point of view. The impact is hard to measure for a single person even if that person did everything he/she possibly could do within their power.
However, it is the attitude that needs to be shifted, if we spread this word being grim that it's useless, then everyone will keep on having this attitude that my impact means nothing, so collectively we will never change. The only way we could ever have any impact is if the whole world does it together, and spreads the word. If we keep the attitude of I can't do anything, then this world will unfortunately be doomed.
But the good news, is this is all temporary anyways, we will all die and the Earth will die too. But in the meantime, it is a fun project to see if we really could spread the word to the world and somehow make the world a more beautiful sustainable place for the years to come in the meantime. You might also want to go look up, what is the 'ripple effect' (term commonly applied by NDE'ers)....
Peace bro!
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svetz
Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
I'm not the cook or by any means an expert... but I'd say get an instapot. It can do both and make things like rice or yogurt too (see buttons on the right). Lots of YouTube videos on it. In a crockpot everything is submerged so you're making a stew. Doubt a staight-up pressure cooker is as versatile as an instapot. |  |
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svetz
Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
DIYers can Buy Used
Similar to @ianganderton 's Only Buy what you need instead of going to Amazon I'll check out the local Craig's list or the Goodwill store. There's also yard sales run by folks or non-profits (e.g., the local garden club). It's not for everything, for example, if I was buying a freezer I'd probably want one of the new hyper-efficient models. But for other stuff, a lot of it hasn't even ever been used and it's not only great savings, but buying used/refurb has a lower footprint. Even eBay is a good source if you can get stuff locally.I'm far from the most knowledgeable about this. Folks like @Supervstech et.al. can probably give you a lot better idea as to categories of steals vs. horrors. A lot of times though, I suspect even a little DIY can turn a horror into a steal.
Repair Vs. Replace
With a little DIY knowledge you can get that old thing working like new again. Went through that not too long ago with my dishwasher.
Most of my things these days come from second hand stores, thrift stores, gear exchange stores, and craigslist. Its just the way I like to shop (I'm a frugal S.O.B), and tends to be better value than buying new (and fun to hunt for deals, and good brands at a good price), the fact that its environmentally friendly is just a happy coincidence/secondary motivation.
For any outdoorspeople, be aware that and many big outdoor-centered towns and cities will have some sort of used gear exchange store, REI has "garage sales a few times a year," and Patagonia has an outlet for used and returned gear (still at Patagonia prices..)
Also, along with your buy used/from second hand stores, the converse(inverse?) is also probably good (instead of throwing things away, even things you consider worthless, try either putting them on the curb with a free sign or donating to goodwill etc, you will be surprised what other people see value in).
Guda
Superstrut Strut
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2019
- Messages
- 516
I invented a drone to go after lighting strike wildfires. We (usa) already record all the lighting strikes in real time. Sending drones to extinguish the fires when they are small can stop a lot of wildfire damage. This would all pretty easy for a country who kills ppl 1/2 way around the world with drones.
But we live in a world that revolves around profit.... Until we build a system based on human health, we will fail to reverse/slow global warming.
But we live in a world that revolves around profit.... Until we build a system based on human health, we will fail to reverse/slow global warming.
In addition to the InstantPot pressure cooker, induction stoves are also wonderful. Also really like the GeoSpring heatpump water heater in the basement, it keeps down the moisture while producing distilled water.
I recall reading a book a while back, titled something like "$20 gas". Let's assume for a moment a direct correlation between $/gal to $/crude, then it'll be ~$400/barrel.
We can do it, if the price is right. (including the high cost of having children)
I recall reading a book a while back, titled something like "$20 gas". Let's assume for a moment a direct correlation between $/gal to $/crude, then it'll be ~$400/barrel.
We can do it, if the price is right. (including the high cost of having children)
Good point and certainly valid on a DIY focused forum ?
It is also fun, although you might get into too many pet projects like our coffee machine which I am maintaining as if it were a pet: constant attention but the espresso is super.
Some ideas on this thread are like counting pennies in lieu of $100 bills.
Mathematically it's simple. Go to carbonfootprint.com and get your CO2 impact amount. In my case it's 12.19T CO2/year including 1 round trip 6k mi flight a year (2.67T CO2 by itself). My grid power is mostly natural gas at 450g/kWh CO2 intensity. 12190/0.45/365/4.5 = 16.5 kWdc PV solar required to offset 12.19T CO2 at my location. That's it. All these ideas of splitting hairs like eating bugs and fake meat, living in cardboard apartment boxes, taking old cars apart, etc. are too little impact. As long as 25% of all global CO2 emissions come from electricity generation there will be easy way to offset your carbon footprint with solar panels. This is diysolarforum after all.
Mathematically it's simple. Go to carbonfootprint.com and get your CO2 impact amount. In my case it's 12.19T CO2/year including 1 round trip 6k mi flight a year (2.67T CO2 by itself). My grid power is mostly natural gas at 450g/kWh CO2 intensity. 12190/0.45/365/4.5 = 16.5 kWdc PV solar required to offset 12.19T CO2 at my location. That's it. All these ideas of splitting hairs like eating bugs and fake meat, living in cardboard apartment boxes, taking old cars apart, etc. are too little impact. As long as 25% of all global CO2 emissions come from electricity generation there will be easy way to offset your carbon footprint with solar panels. This is diysolarforum after all.
svetz
Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
Neil deGrasse Tyson said there are 3 big drivers that historically are always sure to make things happen: Fear, profit, love of country/king/diety (and not so much on the last one anymore).
For climate change, a great many are already concerned about it. But, if we can turn a profit from the solution too then it's a huge win, capitalism takes over and the dominoes all fall over.
| Wind & Solar are already cheaper than fossil fuels by a good margin, what's holding them back is the cost of Energy Storage as they are not steady suppliers. CAES & Pumped Hydro are already cost-effective when combined with wind/solar; but only in the right geological areas. Batteries prices are falling and are expected to continue to fall, it only makes sense that power generation will greatly convert to wind/solar in the next decades. But Wind & Solar can provide more than 25% reduction. The question in the climate change thread was about the graph to the right. It's a misnomer that electricity is only 25% as a lot of industry, commercial, and agricultural usage could be supplied by electricity (e.g., instead of burning fuel for heat). Similarly, with EVs, the 29% from transportation could be reduced by converting to electricity. |
Some of that hysteria is busted here: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths
If you're charging your EV via PV, that's even better.
A penny saved is a penny earned and I believe every little bit helps. For example the hot water timer... if it saves $10/month it's paid back within in 8 months and if it lasts a decade saves over $1000. At 12¢/kWh, that's a reduction of 3.4 metric tons of CO2.
It's cheaper to insulate the pipes and tank (prevent the loss) and does not fail. Also no electrician and cost of timerNeil deGrasse Tyson said there are 3 big drivers that historically are always sure to make things happen: Fear, profit, love of country/king/diety (and not so much on the last one anymore).
For climate change, a great many are already concerned about it. But, if we can turn a profit from the solution too then it's a huge win, capitalism takes over and the dominoes all fall over.
So I still believe that low-cost ubiquitous ESS is vital and that it'll make the transition both painless and desirable. It doesn't get us to net zero, but takes us a heck of a lot farther that 25%.
Wind & Solar are already cheaper than fossil fuels by a good margin, what's holding
them back is the cost of Energy Storage as they are not steady suppliers. CAES &
Pumped Hydro are already cost-effective when combined with wind/solar; but only
in the right geological areas. Batteries prices are falling and are expected to
continue to fall, it only makes sense that power generation will greatly convert to
wind/solar in the next decades.
But Wind & Solar can provide more than 25% reduction.
The question in the climate change thread was about the graph to the right. It's
a misnomer that electricity is only 25% as a lot of industry, commercial, and
agricultural usage could be supplied by electricity (e.g., instead of burning fuel for
heat). Similarly, with EVs, the 29% from transportation could be reduced by
converting to electricity.
Some of that hysteria is busted here: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths
If you're charging your EV via PV, that's even better.
A penny saved is a penny earned and I believe every little bit helps. For example the hot water timer... if it saves $10/month it's paid back within in 8 months and if it lasts a decade saves over $1000. At 12¢/kWh, that's a reduction of 3.4 metric tons of CO2.
MurphyGuy
It just needs a bigger hammer
- Joined
- May 20, 2020
- Messages
- 4,129
I'm at 3.81T
I only drive my gas guzzling 4wd pickup about 3000 miles per year and my wife's car at 26mph is only driven about 7000.
Natural gas is only used for the stove and water heater so our monthly bill is always under $30.
wattmatters
Solar Wizard
You're allowed to do both.
svetz
Works in theory! Practice? That's something else
Install a Programmable or Smart Thermostat
Energy Star says installing a smart thermostat can save about 8% per year.As the name suggests, programmable thermostats allow you to program your home’s cooling and heating system. For example, you can turn the heat down in the winter while you're away at work, and then have it back up where you like it by the time you get home.
Smart thermostats are also programmable, and they are designed to learn your behavior over time, automatically adjusting the temperature in your home to accommodate your habits.
Right-sizing your home is important (less to clean, heat, air-condition), but it's not always that easy to do. There are also diminishing returns as heat transfer is through surface area and volume increases faster than surface area (that is, for equal R-Values, small houses are less efficient per unit of volume). Building as @Steve_S does minimizes it further to where it might be a moot point.
But there probably are things we can do. For example, if you have a normally empty bedroom for when guests come by it could normally be kept closed-off with the air/heat vents closed.
I reviewed the post that was previously in this space and now understand that it was below consensus standards with respect to tone, content, conciseness, respect and possibly other aspects and therefore wish to apologize to those well-meaning people whose feelings I may have hurt.
War = Peace
Freedom = Slavery
Ignorance = Strength
Destroying the environment = Saving the environment
War = Peace
Freedom = Slavery
Ignorance = Strength
Destroying the environment = Saving the environment
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@Zjohn I suggest you try to make your points in a less argumentative, less disrespectful, and more constructive way that adds to the conversation rather than derails it (and attacks other members). The tone with which you are approaching this topic is going to alienate people who may otherwise have been receptive to what you have to say, and turning towards attacking members, making a discussion of ideas personal and argumentative, rather than staying on topic and contributing to substantive discussion will only diminish from any points you are trying to get across. Different perspectives are good, disagreement is normal, but why be so quick to resort to argument? Your earlier post in this thread, while a bit abrasive, made substantive contributions to the (on topic) conversation. Your second comment could be reduced to a couple sentences if it was reduced to just the substance and left out the color commentary, sarcasm, and ad hominems.
Tone and meaning is hard to accurately convey and receive on the internet, so its possible I'm mistaken about yours, but it would be to the benefit of everyone (you included) if you toned down your rhetoric, and stuck to ideas, and kept personal attacks and hostility out of it. You may find there are a lot of people who share some of that sentiment, even those people you are criticizing as having ideas that are 'too small' or only a drop in the bucket (large and small/incremental changes are not mutually exclusive), why alienate people with shared values/interests unnecessarily?
Tone and meaning is hard to accurately convey and receive on the internet, so its possible I'm mistaken about yours, but it would be to the benefit of everyone (you included) if you toned down your rhetoric, and stuck to ideas, and kept personal attacks and hostility out of it. You may find there are a lot of people who share some of that sentiment, even those people you are criticizing as having ideas that are 'too small' or only a drop in the bucket (large and small/incremental changes are not mutually exclusive), why alienate people with shared values/interests unnecessarily?
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