You CAN make a difference.

[rocketparrotlet]

Alternative energy. We have the systems set up. Now all it takes is for every one of us (yes, that means YOU!) to stop complaining and whining and justifying why alternative energy doesn't work, get your act together, and make the change! Build solar panels on your house, solar water heaters are only a few hundred. You'll save that much money in a couple of years. Buy a biodiesel converter for your car, and make your own fuel. Used fryer oil is free, and coffee filters are cheap. That's all you need.

Compost and recycle. It's not hard at all. Every aluminum can you throw away is wasting enough energy to power a computer for over an hour. Mining for aluminum contributes to the destruction of river systems, and so does mining for coal.

Do you really need that light on? You should probably turn it off. When it dies, switch to compact fluorescent lighting. It saves a lot of power, and it lasts longer. When you're done, take it to a recycling facility. IKEA has one, and so does many other places.

The same goes for batteries, no matter what kind. They can be very harmful if you just throw them away. Take them to a recycling facility. If you don't know where one is, that is not an excuse. Find one.

Buy organic and local foods wherever possible. They taste better, they support the local economy more, they promote green farming, and they save a lot of power and energy that would be wasted otherwise.

Take my advice and you have more courage than most people. Please do not criticize me and tell me these do not work. They do. Anyone saying they don't most likely has a personal stake in ensuring that energy is wasted for profit. I don't want this to be a flaming outpost; these are suggestions that EVERY ONE OF US can do to make a difference.

Thank you.

-Mark

 

[lasersbee]

I was thinking of converting a diesel vehicle to run off used and filtered
French Fry oil... then I found out in Quebec it is illegal to use it as fuel..
because fuel taxes have not been paid on it...
If you get caught you get a stiff fine... And it's easy to know which car runs
on that type of oil... b/c the exhaust smells like French Fries...

Jerry

 

[rangedunits]

I was thinking of converting a diesel vehicle to run off used and filtered
French Fry oil... then I found out in Quebec it is illegal to use it as fuel..
because fuel taxes have not been paid on it...
If you get caught you get a stiff fine...  And it's easy to know which car runs
on that type of oil... b/c the exhaust smells like French Fries...

Jerry

Lol, mcdonalds as a gas station

I pollute a lot, tv works when i aint even home.. Unless its cold outside...
I dont care about it. I drink pepsi and throw it away while walkingg home, anyway poor people will take the 5cents.

Each time i buy from store inask for plastic bag, idk why.
Today i wasted wax paper,paper,ink and cheap plastic bag that broke while walking

 

[lasersbee]

[quote author=lasersbee link=1233789309/0#1 date=1233794147]I was thinking of converting a diesel vehicle to run off used and filtered
French Fry oil... then I found out in Quebec it is illegal to use it as fuel..
because fuel taxes have not been paid on it...
If you get caught you get a stiff fine...  And it's easy to know which car runs
on that type of oil... b/c the exhaust smells like French Fries...

Jerry

Lol, mcdonalds as a gas station[/quote]
Until everyone uses French Fry oil.. it is Free for the asking... Restaurants pay to have it
taken away... They will give it away to save the pickup fees...

Jerry

 

[rangedunits]

Do it, fines are most likely low.


Doooo it!!!
If you travel to montreal you be able to refill your tank each KM.



Jerry enter in BK(burger king)
The girl, hi what youd like?
jerry oh just some french fries oil
The girl is confused and ask the manAger


Hilarous

 

[jwc]

Build solar panels on your house

Not yet. The fabrication of panels is far too costly, both in terms of price and environmental impact.

 

[Cyparagon]

That's right. Solar panels take 10-30 years to pay for themselves, and that's IF nothing goes wrong with them.

There's an ordinance in effect here banning composting.  

So, rocketparrot, are you a hardcore hippie or is this an awkward sarcasm rant?

 

[digital_blue]

IMO, nuclear power is the way to go these days. Generates no greenhouse gases, leaves a very small ecological footprint, costs very little to run, etc... Nuclear is one of the safest forms of power generation(Provided that you don't have a Homer Simpson running it)...

Yes, alternative power is available and it works, but the costs of setup and the uncertainty of the long-term effects of mass-exploitation makes it somewhat shaky. What if certain areas exhibit a freakish series of overcast days/months? What if the wind stops blowing in a certain area for weeks?

 

[ndrew2505]

Nuclear is one of the safest forms of power generation...

tell that to the people that lived in chernobyl in the 80's... it can be safe and better than most but not the BEST.

 

[digital_blue]

tell that to the people that lived in chernobyl in the 80's... it can be safe and better than most but not the BEST.

"Provided you don't have a Homer Simpson running it"... If you read up on Chernobyl, you see it was a series of human errors and bad designs that caused it to meltdown and ultimately explode. The Chernobyl incident was completely preventable through better management and design. These days there several layers of redundancies and almost all of these sources of errors are/have been eliminated through the use of better computers.

 

[jwc]

The Chernobyl reactor was "cooled" (i.e. particle flow regulation) with graphite. Graphite catches fire if it gets too hot.

Nowadays, reactors use water.

 

[kendon]

Take my advice and you have more courage than most people.  Please do not criticize me and tell me these do not work.  They do.

so your word is the wisdom? what is written in your crappy "ecomagazine" (or whatever) is the one and only truth? i'm not sure about this...

and why do you post this in a public forum when you don't want to discuss about it? seems a little misplaced.

 

[rocketparrotlet]

So, rocketparrot, are you a hardcore hippie or is this an awkward sarcasm rant?

Neither, I'm sick of living in the 1800's. We have the technology to improve our own lives, and so we should do so to the fullest of our ability.

IMO, nuclear power is the way to go these days. Generates no greenhouse gases, leaves a very small ecological footprint, costs very little to run, etc... Nuclear is one of the safest forms of power generation(Provided that you don't have a Homer Simpson running it)...

Yes, alternative power is available and it works, but the costs of setup and the uncertainty of the long-term effects of mass-exploitation makes it somewhat shaky. What if certain areas exhibit a freakish series of overcast days/months? What if the wind stops blowing in a certain area for weeks?

I completely agree with you; nuclear power is my personal favorite as well. I think that we should devote billions of dollars for pursuing nuclear power. However, this thread is about how YOU (the common man) can make a difference, and not how "they" can.

[quote author=rocketparrotlet link=1233789309/0#0 date=1233789309]
Take my advice and you have more courage than most people.  Please do not criticize me and tell me these do not work.  They do.

so your word is the wisdom? what is written in your crappy "ecomagazine" (or whatever) is the one and only truth? i'm not sure about this...

and why do you post this in a public forum when you don't want to discuss about it? seems a little misplaced.  [/quote]

I don't get "crappy ecomagazines or whatever". This is based on reading from top scientific publishers, personal experience, and the (unusual to many) process of using my brain cells for more than just selfishness.

I don't want to discuss about how the environmental solutions don't work (the solar panel criticism was okay, because it was justified), and I don't want criticisms as to how the polluting way (a.k.a. the easy way) is better. Easiest is not always best. I'm trying to do the best that I can to make a difference, and change-fearing, uneducated people who say that "it won't work" are only afraid of the truth. You're going to make us all pay in the end.

-Mark

 

[kendon]

I don't want to discuss about how the environmental solutions don't work (the solar panel criticism was okay, because it was justified), and I don't want criticisms as to how the polluting way (a.k.a. the easy way) is better.  Easiest is not always best.  I'm trying to do the best that I can to make a difference, and change-fearing, uneducated people who say that "it won't work" are only afraid of the truth.  You're going to make us all pay in the end.

-Mark

i just tried to point out that believing every BS just because it is written down in some printed magazine is not always the ultimate believe. so you already admitted the solar panel controversy, in my opinion it is a total hoax that you can run a computer one hour by the power you need for making one pepsi can.

the question is who makes us pay in the end, me by living the easy (and not always environmently correct way) or you by desperatly trying to save the world and thereby destroying it in the end by believing false prophecies.

 

[robjdixon]

Have you not noticed that the economy of the world is not doing well, and many people are struggling to find the money for their next meal, let alone spend hundreds of dollars on something that really isn't the way forward at the moment.

Buy organic and local foods wherever possible. They taste better, they support the local economy more, they promote green farming, and they save a lot of power and energy that would be wasted otherwise.

Non organic foods actually support the economy better, as pesticides and fertilisers is a huge industry. If everyone used fertilisers, the economy would be a little better. Also, organic food is a rip-off, as it costs like 3 times the price. At my local shop, I can get 12 eggs for 80p. 12 Organic eggs cost £2.20.

I think you are trying to tell people to turn insta-hippy(new meme anyone?) There is something in between called compromise. That is the place to be. You saying that nuclear energy is the way to go contradicts your post, as it is not "alternative energy." A wind turbine costs thousands of dollars, and takes years and years to be worthwile. We are better not wasting electricity, and working on making other forms of energy worthwile, while using nuclear at the moment. An example is hydrogen maybe.

[//Longest post I have ever made/Hippy Rant]

 

[FrothyChimp]

I admire your enthusiasm and intensity but unfortunately the world runs on economic models. Major shifts in production methodology and energy distribution only occur when the alternative is financially viable. There was a huge push towards hydrogen fueled vehicles recently. Hydrogen makes an awesome fuel and is ecologically clean on the user end (not so clean on the production end which is often overlooked by proponents of such technology). There were vehicles and test fuel stations and everything but economically it was not a viable alternative unless petroleum at the pump was running about $4.80 / gallon in the U.S.

Fertilizers consume a huge amount of the global oil production. This cannot be ended regardless of the impacts. Petroleum based fertilizer use has allowed the United States and Canada to feed the world. No one ever seems to remember that in their complaints about the U.S. which gives grain away for free to any country that needs it (a far cry from Russia), even our enemies. You never hear about Iran accepting grain from the Great Satin but they do. Of course, that make them hypocrits but I digress. Without it there would be global starvation in lesser developed countries. Yes, there already is mass starvation but that's not due to a lack of food. That is due to the politics of whatever country is receiving aid. If Russia would ever get its ass and head wired together they could produce huge volumes of food for the world. Unfortunately, their current dictator, Putin, would use it to play a power game as usual just like he did when he shut off the natural gas flow to western Europe because of a dispute with the Ukraine.

Nuclear power is a great source of energy. While operating, nuclear power plants are very clean. There is, of course, the question of what to do with spent fuel rods after reprocessing. Nobody want's the waste in their back yards or transported across their yards. Reactors are very safe. Chernobyl cannot be used as reference on safety as the engineering of those reactors was typical Russian 5-year plan type thinking. The reactors were graphite moderated military reactors originally designed for weapons grade material production. The entire design was substandard. All reactors for commercial power production are of the LWR or light water reactor type.

In any event building new power plants is not a short term solution as they can take as long as 20 years to come online and are heavily subsidized by their respective governments.

The technologies I favor beyond wind, solar and hydroelectric, as these are developed technologies, is fusion and biofuel. I believe huge amounts of money should be pressed into research to solve those last few problems with sustained fusion energy. They are so close with a projected consumer cost of $0.07 / kWh. Furthermore, I think huge amounts of money should go to biofuel research in algae fuel production and hydrogen extraction methods to shift the utility curve.

I think the best thing that can be expected of individuals is to ask them to do their best with what they have. Don't go overboard but if you can turn off that light then do it. It's the little things that add up to big things. Things have to be relatively convenient for people to continue to do them. Going overboard and expecting people to go out of their way will result in failure as people will not continue to do it.