Sustainable Living Stack Exchange
Sustainable Living Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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What soil mixture is suitable for sustainably growing ginger indoors?

In the past when I have grown ginger indoors, I have started it in the summer in a pot of 100% peat moss. Ginger is very sensitive to changes in humidity and requires very moisture-rich soils (in the tropics, I have grown it outdoors in clay…
Chris Travers
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Solar water heater from plastic windows - what are the considerations?

I've been able to acquire several plastic-framed ("energy-saving") windows - it appears some contractor messed up the measurements and a whole batch of new custom-made windows for a nearby construction was discarded, then we managed to save quite a…
SF.
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Would it be possible to recycle all plastic into bricks and use them for building or insulation?

I've had this idea for a few years and wonder if it would be feasible. Rather than simply recycling bottles and bags in blue bins, if there could be a way to melt down all types of plastic and mold them into large bricks, like big Lego. It sounds…
tyler
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How much of paper gets recycled?

I am a grad student who can't stand reading pdfs on a laptop. Combined with my minor ADD, I always end up on reddit or stackexchange websites wasting time. Also, when I present my research to my supervisor, he wants me to print everything out.…
masfenix
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Can we build a very effective cooling system for house or apartment using solar or wind power?

I ask this question all the time. I am living in Southeast Asia & the temperature there is always 30-32 C in almost every day of the year. So, houses in Southeast Asia normally are pretty hot. However, people there tried many way to make their home…
Tom
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What are the limits of planting directly into pre-compost material?

I was wondering what the limits were to planting into organic pre-compost material. As an experiment my father has grown a few things be simply planting them in a pile of used tea bags. This seems to work and teabags are amazingly swift become new…
Matthew Brown aka Lord Matt
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Can kiln-dried wood be stored outside?

Earlier in the year I had a wood burner (stove) installed. I bought a small quantity of kiln-dried wood, to get myself going. Because of the small quantity, I was able to store it indoors (in the garage). On the several occasions we have used the…
PeteH
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How to conserve water while bathing?

This NASA article states that the ISS crew members will use 4 liters of water or less for bathing, in comparison to 50 liters which they claim is the average used by earth's citizens in developed countries. Is there a practical example of how you…
Filip Dupanović
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How can I take advantage of winter cold to cool servers

How can I take advantage of freezing winter cold to cool my servers without exposing them to humidity?
Radium
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Composting paper versus recycling it, which one is more environment friendly?

As the title suggests, the question boils down to which one is more environment friendly? I started composting few weeks back. After reading about composting on various internet resources, I tried using some paper in my compost bin. This is non…
user871199
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1 answer

What is the share of global human CO2 emission of cargo transport by ship?

I had an argument how bad global economic trade flows really are. The question was in particular how bad worldwide transports on cargo vessels (containers, ...) are in terms of CO2 production as well as contamination of oceans, ... I guess there…
NoDataDumpNoContribution
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Investing in Solar Panels in the UK

I am based in the UK (in England) and am thinking about installing solar panels on my roof. The problem I am having is actually finding some resources which I can use to get some objective information. The only information I seem to be able to find…
PeteH
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Is butcher's paper typically waxed, oiled, or plastic coated?

Butcher's paper was suggested to me as a sustainable material for storing food in the freezer. However, I found this site that suggests it is sometimes oiled or waxed. Perhaps it coated in plastic sometimes too? My goal in the other question linked…
Highly Irregular
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How to construct a composting toilet

I want to built a composting toilet. What are the main construction aspects to be considered? Does anyone have a manual to share? I am especially interested in construction schemes which include the excreta on site.
Himbeere
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Is canned fish more sustainable than fresh?

I read this beauty-oriented article claiming that canned fish is more sustainable than fresh fish. Is this true? Listed below is a brief energy/sustainability brain dump on the subject. Canned fish: does not have to be refrigerated fuel to build,…
tM --
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