9
votes
Accepted
Can solid dog waste be safely added to a backyard composting heap?
You've hinted at the main concerns with putting poop in a compost pile.
Will putting dog poop in the compost pile spread disease? This could happen either in the act of moving the dog poop, while ...
- 1,594
6
votes
Are there hard water purifiers for the main water pipe into an apartment?
There is only one effective measure, and that's an ion-exchange water-softener.
The good news is that the major inputs are sustainable, or potentially sustainable: electricity, and salt. Similarly, ...
- 14.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Temperature for hot water cylinder
Yes, higher thermostat temperatures mean more electricity consumption. Also your thermostat manual is right, bacteria growth is a valid concern.
The ideal conditions for the Legionella bacteria to ...
- 14.4k
5
votes
Is cooking with palm oil healthy?
Using palm oil for cooking is fine from a health perspective, but not from a sustainability perspective. Often rain forests are cleared to create new palm oil plantations, so palm oil is responsible ...
- 14.4k
5
votes
Most eco-friendly staple food
First approximation:
What is the cheapest starch? Use dry weight, or bucks per calorie.
This tends to maximize for the calories per acre of land used, and the costs to bring it to market.
It does ...
- 7,127
4
votes
Quick "non-shower" after morning bicycle commute
You could take a small, fast-drying (outdoor) towel with you and wash your underarms (usually the most dominant source of smell) in the toilet.
- 1,379
4
votes
Accepted
Does decanting eliminate heavy metals in water?
Precipitation and decantation are two different things.
If left alone, dissolved heavy metals would never go down to the bottom of a container (countering the gravity pull for an ion over 10 cm costs ...
- 270
3
votes
Accepted
Will vegetarianism increase the world population?
This is really a two-part question, the second part of which probably isn't answerable.
If everyone were vegetarian, what would the impact on mortality be?
The BBC cites "Analysis and valuation ...
- 11.7k
3
votes
Accepted
Most eco-friendly staple food
Your location will have a big influence on what is eco-friendly since things grown where you are may require intense inputs not needed on other sites. Melbourne and surrounding areas, for example, ...
3
votes
Accepted
Is it healthy to brush teeth only with tea tree oil?
NO! Tea tree oil is toxic when swallowed, so I'd strongly advise against any intake of tea tree oil, and even more so if you are using it regularly. Even if you spit it out, some may be left behind ...
- 14.4k
2
votes
How can I easily detect the presence of insecticides?
If you have a particular location in the room where you suspect they may have been used, you could try releasing some live bugs there (ones that are moderately welcome indoors), eg some jumpy spiders. ...
- 8,735
2
votes
Quick "non-shower" after morning bicycle commute
The cause of body odour are the chemical produced by bacteria that live on the skin in warm, moist areas like the armpits and on feet.
One way to reduce the amount of bacteria is to kill them off ...
- 3,417
2
votes
Can solid dog waste be safely added to a backyard composting heap?
Not a big problem, but also not a great benefit.
Dog feces are not high in nitrogen. They will decompose quite readily.
They are a hazard for e-coli (common to most crap) and if your dog catches ...
- 7,127
1
vote
How to create a sustainable white noise generation box?
By installing a white noise generating app do you intend to keep the phone connected to the mobile/cellar telephone network & thus continually use phone bandwidth 24/7?
I would have thought a ...
- 3,417
1
vote
What are the most sustainable options for filtering tap water for drinking?
I live in Bulgaria where water is also generally safe to drink. However, the quality varies and sometimes a lot of chlorine is added to it. Also, there are areas here that go without tap-water some ...
- 256
1
vote
What commercially printed paper is safe to compost?
Paper mills use bonding compounds, dies, and coatings. Pure white paper, for instance, is not just bleached. It has white components to increase the reflectivity. Glossy papers are the worst. They ...
- 276
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