All Questions

So I bought this handy and mobile solar charger for my cell phone. I wonder if it's a sustainable buy and looking for a report or similar that compares the production cost(carbon dioxide and resources)...

"Buy local". But how local? Is the sequence of goodness: local shop > local franchise > local chain > online market? When an item needs to be bought new not used, I think of buying online as ...

Consider a bed or a chair, one made of wood, another of plastic, another of metal. All else being kept similar between the materials to the extent feasible, is the wood product generally the most ...

The closely related Are there types of solar panels that can be made completely locally and independent of fossil fuels? Suggests that it is possible to make solar cells without fossil fuels. I ...

Let's say I have the option to send my food scraps to either a composting site, or a biogas digester. Both are industrial scale, following best practices. The output from each is high quality and ...

Human activities cause about 10% of total co2 emissions. However, humans cultivate about half of the earths land surface. These plants potentially cause photosynthesis and lower atmospheric co2. Do ...

In know this will vary by soil and growing season. But say you have a 4-6 month growing season and there is farming in the area so soil must be OK. A small green house for like lettuce and herbs. ...

I am looking to get into beekeeping. I have a plot of land ~20x50m that I would like to put some hives on. There are multiple nearby fields with horses - minimum distance ~ 50m to nearest such field. ...

How can ceramics be recycled? Does the answer vary greatly depending on glaze or other factors, and if so, how can those factors be determined (i.e. how can I tell if a glaze contains lead or not)? ...

What can and cannot be sent to an incinerator plant (Virginia) for producing electricity from heat? Can there be anything other than plastics, metals, and paper products in the bin?

How can I easily tell which plastics are Biodegradable and which are not?

I am wondering if foam netting sleeves that are often used to protect glass bottles in transport (see picture) can be recycled in a soft plastic stream? (like RedCycle in Australia)

Food waste is a big problem in the U.S. and (presumably) many other parts of the world as well. From Scientific American: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Loss Project, we ...

I have a friend who has made a very nice mobile Tiny House. The reports I've read on the prices of these make them pretty dear. In many places for zoning reasons they have to still be nominally ...

According to "E = A * r * H * PR" global formula to estimate energy generated, the solar irradiance value is needed. I have Horizontal irradiance, Tilted irradiance, and Normal irradiance values but ...

I've noticed that most thermally efficient constructions limit the use of windows due to glass' low R-value. According to this, one is forced to choose between well-lit spaces or thermally efficient ...

I live in a city that doesn't have composting facilities that ordinary citizens like myself could easily use. Although I recycle most of the plastic, metal, glass and paper I lay my hands on, getting ...

I'm a software engineer, and lately I've been thinking whether it's possible to delineate the environmental impact of a software product - say a web service, a website, an app for your phone, etc. It ...

I am wondering about a specific carbon footprint comparison (i.e. total global warming potential per litre) between soy milk and cow's milk. This would of course depend on where and how they are ...

I just read the article "Oregon Launches First Statewide Refillable Bottle System In U.S.". Discussing the environmental impact of this system, the article says: Until that facility [in Portland, ...

The government (specifically the US, and by governemnt I mean local, state, and federal) is responsible for many public works, social welfare programs, and public safety projects that span locally to ...

What are crisp packets made from, specifically Tyrrells or Walkers. I am doing a school project on single use plastic crisp packets. I am finding it difficult to find information online.

I found a face scrub that states Polyacrylamide as an ingredient. Should I avoid it because Polyacrylamide is used to make the microbeads?

If I recycle the waste heat emitted by a Mcdonald's, can a well-placed Mcdonald's take the place of a community heating boiler?

I avoid using disposable plates as much as possible, but there are situations where that's not an option, such as at company events. And in those situations, I'm sometimes faced with deciding between ...

When storing ice pops for retail customers, I need to package them in a freezer-safe ,clear wrapping. I would like for it to be compostable, but apparently the compostable cellophane options are not ...

I'm a big fan of reusing and if I really need to buy something, I buy it used. For example, I've been using second hand or refurbished phones for many years. However, while that is good for the ...

Is the environmental impact of pesticide use on greenhouse crops substantially different from the impact of pesticide use in open-air crops? I imagine that, at least in theory, a greenhouse should ...

From Wikipedia: Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service offered by Amazon that gives users access to free two-day delivery (one-day in some areas) [...] and other benefits for a monthly or ...

I would like to know what parts I would need to charge a 36V lithium battery for an ebike? I want to charge the battery while riding the bike for greater range.

An UDDT seems to be the most environmentally friendly alternative, but for some contexts, a composting toilet might seem preferable (like rentals, or camping sites where people don't always remember ...

I wonder of the impact ash (probably combined with still existing coal) might have to compost. I know that coal is used to clean water and air. But does it improve compost or does it reduce activities ...

I live in Devon, and tap water in my household does not taste consistently. When I moved in my current property, the neighbours warned me that they had been buying bottled water since 20 years, ...

I have a vision for a model of grocery store that would buy food in bulk and package on-site into packaging which is 100% reusable or truly compostable (unlike many types of so-called "compostable ...

Yesterday Kraft Foods announced that by 2025 all of its packaging will be recyclable. (Note that while they include "reusable" and "compostable" in the announcement, they talk almost exclusively about ...

I'm interested in the breakdown of energy production by individual EU country. For the EU I found this site, it's good, but it does not offer the kind of breakdown I'm interested in - I'd like to see ...

I'm thinking that it would be useful to have a pellet mill at home to turn biowaste into fuel pellets. It would be nice to turn sawdust and wood shavings into fuel pellets as well but that I think is ...

I am looking for an environmentally conscious replacement for white yogurt. I do have a couple of ideas for foods that could work well, but I have very little clue if they are a better choice from the ...

I know what is the irradiance in my region, therefore I know what is the maximum expected production when the solar panels are placed optimally (interestingly, the two links provide different optimal ...

This question prompted by discussion regarding this answer to a question about vegetarianism. I recently came across a U.N. review of studies seeking to determine the earth's maximum sustainable ...

Wondering how efficient different cooking methods are (for the sake of example, assume a dish in a cast iron pot heated by stovetop vs. oven). Stove seems to use less energy than an oven (as the ...

Of course buying used vs. new makes a big difference, but in any case, if one is set on purchasing a BBQ grill, is there less environmental impact in the production & use of a charcoal vs. a ...

I'm not asking what will happen if everyone in the world suddenly turned to vegetarian. In an ideal world with current population, can everyone follow a vegetarian diet (except for people who may need ...

A useful metric for vehicle efficiency is miles per gallon, kilometers per liter, or liters per 100 km. The amount of gasoline used by a given vehicle can easily be understood and compared. Energy ...

I am from India and planning to build a house with as little cement, steel and sand as possible. I am looking to keep the temperature inside the home to be minimal since temperature will touch around ...

THelper's excellent answer to the question "What is current best practice for setting up recycling?" includes a chart showing that New Zealand sends nearly 100% of its garbage to landfills. In a ...

Every here and there I hear sayings like "plastic is bad, because it only degrades in hundreds/thousands/gazillion years, while paper is much better because it degrades fast" which are followed by ...

During the summer is it more desirable to have storm windows open, partially open, or closed? I have old wooden, single-pane windows with aluminum storm windows and I have installed energy film on ...

A google search for "comparing LED, CFL, and, incandescent brightness" returns hundreds of charts showing what equivalent wattage of LEDs and CFLs are to match an incandescent bulb. This is fine for ...

I live in a second floor apartment with a small balcony. In my kitchen I have a small vented container where I place kitchen scraps as I'm preparing food -- like this: About once a week when this ...