wagonfullapancakes’s Recent Comments

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  re: urea

  commercially available urea is made from ammonia fixed in the Haber-Bosch process, in which natural gas (CH4) provides the hydrogen and the energy to convert N2 to NH3.  That said, urea-based ice melts are probably a safer choice than salts for ecosystems in general (Urea is a commonly used fertilizer and breaks down to ammonium pretty quickly).

  Since I'm extra careful about what happens near my well, I don't use ice melts, just sand or cat litter for traction (and then I get a good workout on a warm day, chipping that ice with a rock bar).On The rundown on eco-friendly ice melt posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago 4 Responses

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  to still confused

  Newton's law of cooling - the rate of heat loss is proportional to the difference in temperature (i.e. inside vs. outside) - means that the house will lose energy faster at 68 than at 50.  In order to keep the house at a constant temperature, you need to add heat energy at the rate it's being lost.

  The energy lost in cooling from 68 to 50 is equal to the amount of energy you need to add to get it back to 68.  But the entire time it's less than 68, you're saving energy relative to how much it would take to keep it at 68.

  Of course, from a practical standpoint, most people won't want to let the heat go down to 50 if it takes forever for their system to bring it back up to a comfortable temp.  If your schedule is predictable, though, you can have a programmable thermostat start warming things up a while before you get home.On Umbra on turning down the heat posted 12 months ago 21 Responses

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  this time it's not the CO2 you have to worry about

  The reason towns and cities usually limit yard waste burning is because 1) they don't want to have to put out any fires that get out of control, especially in densely populated areas, and 2) the fine particles generated by low-temperature combustion are pretty dangerous - aggravating asthma, increasing long-term cancer risk, etc.  A "well-tended" open fire still will produce lots of particulate matter; the average home wood-stove produces a lot even though it gets much hotter and more evenly hot than a pile of burning brush ever could.

  In terms of carbon, whether you deal with yard waste by burning or composting, most of the carbon will eventually end up back in the atmosphere, where it came from in the first place.  Any charcoal produced in parts of the fire that didn't get enough oxygen is almost pure carbon, in a form that will take a very long time to return to the atmosphere.  However, the vast majority of C in burning yard waste is released to the atmosphere immediately.  If you compost, you are keeping the carbon sequestered for longer (the end product of your compost pile is about 50% C dry mass, and will continue to decompose many years after you put it in the garden).  Ironically, the best way to sequester the C in yard waste would be to put it in a landfill - without sufficient oxygen, decomposition will take a very long time.  However, most localities wisely prohibit disposing of yard waste in costly and rapidly-filling landfills.

  The bottom line is that a properly maintained compost pile is by far the lowest-impact way to deal with your yard waste.  If built properly, it will kill weed seeds nearly as effectively as a fire would, and it saves you from having to breathe in all that soot.  As for honeysuckle, be very aggressive with it starting early in the season, and you won't have such a huge unsightly pile (full of seeds!) to deal with in the fall.On Umbra on burning yard waste posted 2 years, 10 months ago 12 Responses