Sustainable Living Stack Exchange
Sustainable Living Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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Quantitative comparison of the economics and output of permaculture versus industrial farms

I am new to permaculture but would like to get a better feeling for if and how mid- to large-scale commercial permaculture farms could feed the world. In particular, I am interested in quantitative studies of the following two questions: How does…
w382903
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Want to build a portable solar refrigerator

I've got a 5v Peltier chip. What kind of and how many solar cells 4.5v 18mA do I need per 1 chip? I found these cells online on dealextreme, but there are also other different types. I'm lacking a basic knowledge in electronics, so I'd like to get…
valk
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How to get the most out of computer hardware before it becomes obsolete?

Let's say, i use my personal computer for office tasks only and am happy with its performance as long as the operating system and the browser receive regular security updates. What would be a promising choice of - hardware - operating system -…
atomas18
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Is there a cheap, sustainable alternative to newspapers for wrapping food?

Here where I live a worker who used to sell some soft snacks like bread etc. uses newspaper to wrap and pack the snacks. I have read that the ink of the letters typed in the newspaper may mix with the food and that may be harmful. I even told them…
Yadav Chetan
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Why is so much railroad steel not recycled?

As I’ve wandered in many places, I have often encountered abandoned railways, or railways still in use surrounded by hundreds of discarded spikes. It makes sense in most places for scrapyards to be prohibited from buying rails and spikes due to the…
WGroleau
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How do German fossil fuel subsidies compare to PV subsidies?

Over on Politics.SE there's an interesting discussion about "grid parity": "If grid parity has already been reached, why is it so expensive to switch to renewable energy?". The discussion has centered on Germany and the costs of PV there compared to…
LShaver
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Are trains more sustainable than electric buses?

I assume the energy for electric buses and trains comes from the same sources. But a train doesn't need to carry it's power supply along, contrary to a bus. However, there is more infrastructure that is needed for trains, since buses can just use…
usernumber
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2 answers

Why they use stone crush on roof of the multistory buildings?

I see in France most of the multistory buildings, there is a black stone crush placed on the top of the buildings. I would like to know whether they use it for certain climate or reason. (Crushed stones, placed without cement, as a raw…
DataMiner
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How to reduce evaporation of a dam/catchment water source?

My city has a catchment area for water but due to drought conditions it's getting lower and lower in current capacity, and water restrictions have been placed into effect for residents and businesses to conserve the water we have left. I know of…
Robotnik
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How does cold weather affect electric vehicles?

I live in Madison, Wisconsin, US where our winters are cold -- for January and February, the average low is around -10C, with extremes regularly dipping below -20C. I currently have a 20-year old car. Soon enough, I expect that needed repairs will…
LShaver
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If everyone had an 'American carbon footprint', how much would the world's temperatures increase?

I'm trying to create a formula that would show: If every citizen in the world had an average carbon footprint of X.X kg per month, global temperatures could rise by X.X degC by 2050. I know there will be quite a lot of variance in the answer, and it…
Josie
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Plane and train greenhouse emissions - comparison taking infrastructure in account or not?

In the news or various other places, we see often that train travel produces significantly less greenhouse gas than air travel, without much information about how this is calculated. For example here :…
Bregalad
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Sustainably waterproofing a rain jacket

My raincoat was fully waterproof when bought some 8 years ago. Now it's like a cotton blouse in that it soaks up water immediately. I have washed it with technical wash and sprayed it with waterproofing spray. It did not help much so I have sprayed…
Ivana
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What is the climate impact of planting one tree?

I was reading the news today, and noticed that in the UN Climate Summit, it was decided that over 11 billion trees will be planted to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. I was thinking that this probably doesn't have much effect. So, what…
juhist
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Are there any adverse impacts if I keep WiFi router on all time?

I searched Google only to come up with various results with different views. Is there any official or reliable source that states the impacts of keeping the WiFi router on regarding environmental impact, carbon footprint and personal health impacts?
Karan Desai
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