All Questions

Why do some people say that biofuels are renewable energy source if producing biofuels requires nitrogen fertilizers that are produced from natural gas (and energy output of biofuels is less than that ...

I have a solar array with 8 panels. There is a slight gap between each panel. At 2 locations string MC4 connectors are placed between the gaps. My question is if water gets on this connector (and not ...

I'm interested in knowing the typical energy pay-back time of a solar photovoltaic panel, in terms of hours operating under an ideal scenario. Energy pay-back time (EPBT) is usually quoted in terms ...

What is the typical embodied energy of a solar photovoltaic panel, in terms of nominal power output or panel area? The ideal answer would be in kWh/WP, but kWh/m2 would also be acceptable. I ...

CO2 concentration is linked to health risks and even our ability to think well. Meanwhile, houseplants decrease CO2 concentration when they receive enough sunlight. However, both houseplant studies ...

i have out a glass jar of apple cider vinegar and they still come how do i keep the pests out and away. this only attracts them and some get into the compost even sticky traps are the same some still ...

In order to make a solar panel or a wind turbine, a few basic inputs are required: labor energy water raw materials Given the current abundance of renewable resources, I assume that the first three ...

Can anyone please point me to some resource that would detail land/energy/crops/cost requirements for raising livestock as opposed to raising crops? One staunch meat eater claims that if everyone ...

Supposing I can focus only on one type of material to recycle, choosing from paper (card board etc), aluminum (can etc) or plastic (water bottle etc), then which choice of material will help the ...

Can someone point me to a resource that would detail what is palm oil being used for, preferably with some % indicators? A staunch meat eater has been boldly proclaiming that being vegetarian or ...

I'm looking to try using more natural products/solutions in our day to day life and some things that I am considering are fragrances, soaps and essences (food). I have read that Sage plants are edible ...

I'm struggling to explain the most important aspects of air pollution in a concise way. I understand CO2 is the biggest issue and long-term driver of global warming, but beyond that I'm lost. News ...

I often hear arguments from people around me, about the environmental impact of certain consumer behaviours like: eating meat using plastic bags travelling via car instead of plane and many others. ...

Firstly, let me say, I am not pro-either. I just hear about people trying to save the environment (and putting an end to bad municipal 'dump site' behaviour) by rather burning their trash. This is ...

If my employer pays me £80 per day, and I can estimate the CO2 footprint of doing my job, compared not working, is around 15Kg CO2e. So my earnings have a footprint equivalent to 180g CO2e per £. (...

I find that we are having more and more things delivered as opposed to buying in stores. This winter a few cardboard boxes with 10kg of oranges, several books, and just this week a fridge. I was ...

I would like to purchase a shredding machine in order to shred plastic myself, I was wondering if there were any standards I'd need to watch out for and where I could find businesses willing to ...

I live near a number of parks which have very large Sycamore trees. In winter these trees naturally shed their bark. The bark tends to pile up at the bottom of the tree until, I assume, the park ...

Scientists frequently speak out about the dangers of climate change, and I'm sure there are many scientists who make concious choices for their own lives with a view towards sustainability. But are ...

I've often wondered whether it's more environmentally friendly to use a desktop or a laptop. To compare purely the electricity usage, I can of course calculate how long I leave my computer turned on, ...

I recently picked up a few cheap, mini photovoltaics. I'm planning to wire three in parallel for a 2V, 900mA max output. I'm not well versed in battery mechanisms, and I was wondering if I would ...

We have put a fair amount of effort into reducing the impact of our staff canteen in our office. One part of this is introducing separate food waste and recyclables bins. However many canteen users ...

Do the CO2 emissions from petrol / gas vehicles vary depending on driving style? Are emissions a function of the engine type or the fuel efficiency? If a motor car is rated at 105 g/km, but it is ...

According to this article from Reuters, it takes up to eight hours for a coal plant to reach maximum generation. This means that four up to eight hours after it starts up, the plant is burning coal at ...

I just got a load of LED grow light tubes - they have mains connectors that use clover shaped plugs -- very much like a lot of laptop chargers use, but just a bit smaller. There is no label on the ...

I have a lot oF Australian pine growing in my backyard and was wondering if it’s okay for goats to browse on the needles and pine cones?

Charge controller (Renogy Wanderer 10A PWM) can handle the combined voltage when wired in series. From the spec sheet, it has a max PV input voltage of 50VDC. Panels connect to a charge controller ...

I'm looking for some kind of paint to make markings on the pavement and on a grassy area, so that the markings are well visible for a day or so. Spray paint would do the trick but is not very ...

The UK has a target to be carbon-neutral by 2050: As we can see in the image large cuts across all type of CO2 emissions are required. This article by the BBC suggests a number of ways in which ...

I have now seen a few DIY tutorial videos (not in english) which suggest that one should use DC cable for connecting Solar Panels to the Inverter. They claim that AC cable causes a greater voltage ...

I assume that it makes sense to ask for the energy costs of transportation of different goods per weight and volumetric mass density, depending on the means of transportation (truck, train, ship, etc.)...

I live in the UK and do most of my groceries shopping online. At the same time I collect my order I can also hand back to the driver all carrier bags from my previous order (which is great). Some ...

Like many people, we eat some meat, and the resulting bones need to be dealt with after the hens have finished cleaning them or they have been used for stock. I have been burying some bones but am ...

I'm looking for something a little bit better than your average bike in terms of transportation potential, but cannot be a license-required vehicle as I cannot get a driver's license. I also don't ...

My kids like seaweed snacks but there’s so much packaging. Alternatively I can buy crackers or raisins in large packages, reducing both the cost and packaging (plus if the package is cardboard it’s ...

I just read this fascinating article on kernza, an alternative to wheat that is a perennial, rather than annual, crop. From the article, "Can This Breakfast Cereal Help Save The Planet?", this is ...

Is an air to water heat pump appropriate to keep a hot tub at temperature throughout the year (hot tub to run 24/7). Presumably if the efficiency is greater than 1 even at the lowest temperatures (say ...

I'm experimenting with optimal cotton growing techniques using the least amount of water required and plan on growing a cotton plant in simulated field conditions. That said, I need a large enough ...

Discussing charging my electric car with a colleague recently I argued that since (in Ireland) our renewable energy sources are mainly wind and hydro, since I charge my car at night the mixture of ...

For a while now I would like to plant sunflowers in my garden that actually give seeds. After some visits in some department stores and looking online I realized most sunflowers nowadays are for ...

I'm expecting tons of wood chips to be dropped off in part of my yard every day this year, and am wondering what I need to do so the arborist can easily drop them off as close to where I want them as ...

Much to my dismay, my apartment building recently canceled their recycling program. My household generates a fair amount of waste aluminum cans that we were previously sending to the local recycling ...

Currently my house has a natural gas-burning hot water heater, with a 40 gallon (150 liter) tank. Given the vintage, the efficiency of this heater is likely around 80%. A new, drop-in replacement ...

How do you decontaminate land that has been contaminated with various toxic materials? Is it safe to just unearth everything? I live around a lot of contaminated fields and it looks like companies ...

Examples: CO2e emitted, harm to the ecosystem, resources depleted, cost to the economy, etc. Context: I have a piece of clothing that is broken that I want to get rid of, and I want to know if it's ...

I've seen plenty of one-time calculations dedicated to one specific thing (usually plastic vs metal straws, or reusable vs disposable cups) but don't know of any organizations or even blogs that ...

So I have a small solar setup (100w/200ah) in my camper van. I left the controller/panel/batteries hooked up thinking I would occasionally clear the snow and there would let the sun topped the ...

When LDPE Type 4 plastic used in plastic wrapping is recycled, what is it used for?

I'm going to be putting down about 2,000 yards of wood chips on a garden (to kill off all the plants there) in an area on the edge of a swamp this year, and am wondering if it would be just as ...

What percentage of LDPE Type 4 plastic that you hand in to be recycled is in fact recycled into something useful? I ask this because I read that China stopped accepting plastic to be recycled ...