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1500 questions
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Why is hybrid packaging so frequently used to package bread?
With hybrid packaging I refer to the combined packaging of plastic and paper. They are often offered by supermarkets for consumers to put inside fresh bread and buns. The reasons I can imagine for using these hybrids:
Visibility at the cashier…
orschiro
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How would one go about judging the sustainability of BitCoin or other cryptocurrency
I know BitCoin uses a lot of electricity for its mining, but how is this comparable to the banking system? Also, other cryptocurrencies, like PeerCoin, claim to be more environmentally friendly by using something called proof-of-stake.
What are…
Alex
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What countries have the highest greywater reuse rates?
Links to hard information about countries with high rates of greywater recycling would be very helpful in influencing areas that have unfavorable laws.
Laizer
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7
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Quick "non-shower" after morning bicycle commute
I like to commute with my bicycle in the morning. It's just more relax than public transportation or motorcycling (or just whatever else, actually!).
But there's just one problem this summer.
Where I work, we don't have any access to showers. I…
aspyct
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What is the carbon footprint of energy transfer across power lines?
I've been doing some reading up on the full cycle carbon footprint of energy production and consumption, and realising there's a lot of aspects that are frequently overlooked. One of these I'm wondering about are power lines. Over the lifetime of…
andrewb
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How can corrugated cardboard from packaging be compacted for storage before recycling?
A 1500+ employees company is trying to be greener and instead of throwing cardboard packaging out it sends it for recycling. Recycling company won't accept less than several dozen kilograms of materials and also driving small portions of this waste…
sharptooth
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How to keep a small room cool using wet curtains?
I hypothesize that keeping curtains wet continuously will help in cooling a room through rapid evaporation with an indoor ceiling fan set at full speed. So how to accomplish this, and will it really keep the room cool for the following…
sustainablecoolingsolutions
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When buying beer is refilling growlers better than recycling bottles and cans?
I'm trying to decide if it's worth buying all my beer in reusable growlers (32-64 oz. / 0.9-1.9 liter reusable glass containers). I live in New York, so doing so requires me to go out of my way but is easy compared to some other places: you can buy…
prpole
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Curbing non-exhaust (non-tailpipe) transport emissions of particulates
Small particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) is a nasty pollutant that is prevalent in a lot of cities.
Some of these emissions come from exhausts (tailpipes); regulation has spurred on technological developments, and modern clean fossil-fuel engines have…
410 gone
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7
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How many people could be fed using the land currently used to grow feed for livestock?
Vegans argue that most of the grain grown worldwide is used for livestock fattening. How many people could be fed using those fields if they were no longer used for growing livestock feed?
Here are some references with opposing…
Probably
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Most promising decarbonisation routes for clinker, cement and concrete?
Clinker is a major component of cement, which is a major component of concrete. Which means the production of clinker, globally, is huge.
But currently, clinker production releases very large amounts of carbon dioxide.
I know Stuart Licht's group at…
410 gone
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Does burning used motor oil to generate heat on-site have a lower impact than sending it for recycling?
The service station next to my office saves the used oil from oil changes to burn in a special heater in the colder months.
It is my understanding that used motor oil can be recycled in a number of ways:
refined to create new lubricants
used to…
That Idiot
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Is there a method for psychologically-sustainable minimalism?
Minimalism (aka Simple Living) is a great way to live an ecologically-sustainable life, but is there a way to make it sustainable from a pysochological standpoint as well? That is, how does one reduces one's feeling of deprivation while reducing…
Ismael Ghalimi
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7
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Scavenging heat from exhaust flues
I am building a set of greenhouses. they will be 2700 sq.ft. each. I intend to grow year round in one and extend the season in the other two with them being dormant for 6 weeks mid winter. We will be using underbed pex tubing under the grow beds and…
7
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What scope is there for price reductions in photovoltaic inverter costs?
In almost all of the world (except the USA, which has specific local cost challenges), system photovoltaic (PV) costs have come down a lot, to about €2 per installed watt. A large part of the reduction in system costs has come about through…
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