Sustainable living

[dcbc 14508]

30 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Give it to the dog.  She'll be enthralled for hours if not days trying to get every last bit out

Unfortunately, mine would eat the container.

[RDCanecutter 26468]

28 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

Greyhound? Never. Seedy and gross and generally a really unsafe area once the sun sets. It's a place where vagrants, mentally ill, and aggressive homeless like to gather in my area. Alabama might have a different "Greyhound culture". There is a greyhound near the interstate next to the Waffle House I like to go slum it up at from time to time and there are always PD's with drug dogs out there for a reason.

Now, in Austin they have the Vonlane for travel to Houston/Dallas/SA, etc. This is awesome: https://vonlane.com/

Back in the 90s the Birmingham Greyhound station was fairly bleak. Other towns may still be like that, but locally they redid the Greyhound/Amtrak station into a light-filled hall that looks like it's on loan from Denmark. Now we'll see if the loftafarians keep moving downtown.

My main complaint with Greyhound now is that it's not useful for small-town travel. They've cut so many stops and put others way out on bypasses that you need a car for part of your trip. Well, if I'm cranking my car, I'll just drive all the way.

Megabus was here for a while but has seemingly moved on. You'd know one was nearby when you'd see people sitting outside looking at their laptops. In those days, the appeal seemed to be Wifi. Pretty sure Greyhound Express has whatever Megabus did, and ran them out. Plus there are better ways to get to Atlanta, and who wants to go to Memphis?

[wild_turkey 3182]

Regarding EVs, this seems like a pretty good article on their life cycle carbon impact:

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/07/electric-cars-have-much-lower-life-cycle-emissions-new-study-confirms/

And they link the white paper that it is based on:

https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Global-LCA-passenger-cars-jul2021_0.pdf

One potential criticism would be that they are merely looking at the carbon emissions aspect, and not taking into account other environmental, health, and geopolitical factors associated with battery mining. While that could certainly be true, no reasonable person can claim with a straight face that the O&G industry has ever been good in any of those departments.

Edited November 9, 2023 by wild_turkey

[Not that Bob 739]

I'm old enough to remember when there were no plastic bottles. Everything was returned, washed and reused. Kids would collect empty bottles and take them to the store to collect the 3 cent deposit. You could save up enough to buy a Sears guitar, or a cheap charm for your girlfriend's charm bracelet . I remember that "No deposit. No return" became a selling point. Bastards put us kids out of business! Moms would put the empty milk bottles on the porch for the milkman to take to the factory for reuse when they picked up their day's delivery. I remember Dad storing cases of Pearl bottles until time to make another trip to the bottler and load  up for the next party. Yeah, Pearl. He was classy like that.   

[Guest]

Used to go to Mexico as a kid and stop by the Coca Cola plant to get a 24 pack of bottled cokes. When they were empty, return them. All the bottles had this great wear and scratches all over them.

[Not that Bob 739]

Lots of the bottles had the original bottling plant city of origin stamped on the bottom. It was fun to get a bottle from a distant plant. 

[RDCanecutter 26468]

27 minutes ago, Not that Bob said:

I'm old enough to remember when there were no plastic bottles. Everything was returned, washed and reused. Kids would steal empty bottles from the neighbor's back yard bottle rack and take them to the store to collect the 5 cent deposit.  

I blame getting to watch Oliver Twist.

[Frank Drebin 5654]

I piss in the backyard to save water.  I feel like I'm doing my part.

[InkaUtexas 26093]

25 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Used to go to Mexico as a kid and stop by the Coca Cola plant to get a 24 pack of bottled cokes. When they were empty, return them. All the bottles had this great wear and scratches all over them.

Growing up in Central America you had to put a deposit on a bottle or drink it there. In High School we carried around an empty case of beer bottles. Switch them out as you bought.If a drunk friend threw one you would get all over him. 

Then they brought in cans. Litter everywhere. I wish we were back to reusable bottles. What is the argument against? Transportation costs? I mean trucks off load new beer, they can take back the empty bottles. 

And I piss in the backyard as well. Anyone who does not is a heathen and Greta will haunt your dreams. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by InkaUtexas

[RDCanecutter 26468]

13 minutes ago, Frank Drebin said:

I piss in the backyard to save water.  I feel like I'm doing my part.

It's not really your yard until you've claimed it. I am working on a bare spot in the grass that has suffered with lack of rain.

When I was growing my Okra Empire, along with peppers and anything else a squirrel didn't want, we'd keep buckets in the showers to catch all that extra water. Every morning it'd be "Bring Out Your Bath Buckets!" and I'd hand-water, unlike these fancy fucks and their hoses.

[InkaUtexas 26093]

2 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

It's not really your yard until you've claimed it. I am working on a bare spot in the grass that has suffered with lack of rain.

When I was growing my Okra Empire, along with peppers and anything else a squirrel didn't want, we'd keep buckets in the showers to catch all that extra water. Every morning it'd be "Bring Out Your Bath Buckets!" and I'd hand-water, unlike these fancy fucks and their hoses.

[EastHorn 281]

3 hours ago, 52-80 said:

EVs powered exclusively by hydrocarbon-sourced electricity is still cleaner than combustion vehicles. (Emission / distance traveled). 

Net emission is *inclusive* of the differences in manufacturing.  I.e. it is a total lifecycle / full chain calculation. 

Batteries in EVs are highly recycleable and can serve a life beyond powering a car. (just see how much salvaged batteries from old cars sell for…)

Battery chemistries are varied, and production cars are using battery mostly or fully free of controversial minerals like cobalt. 

Mining and extracting anything is not clean. Lithium extraction is not green…but compared to extracting crude oil? which is perpetually required to combust a motors?

Yall arent the first, second, or 1,000th person to have thought about these issues.  Plenty of literature in academic domain, or how about referenced here, by DoE, IEA, etc…

https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_emissions.html
 

https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/comparative-life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-a-mid-size-bev-and-ice-vehicle
 

 

 

I think people tend to lump sustainability, carbon neutralization, and recycling into one category.  I think as a society we need to prioritize carbon emissions first before we reach a point of no return (we may have already).  This is why EV's based on carbon and emission production (yes including lifecycle and build) is a plus.  

[Brisketexan 105315]

20 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

It's not really your yard until you've claimed it.

Moved into our current house 12 years ago.  Has a really nice balcony overlooking the greenbelt.  Wheedled @Pescado_Rojo into helping me move some stuff over there the first day or so.  After we get it unloaded, I show him around, take him out on the back deck to admire the view.  

He observes "nice deck . . . . . . . have you pissed off of it yet?"

I was goddamned annoyed that I hadn't even thought of it yet.  We promptly christened the deck and the yard below.

[Pescado_Rojo 19428]

26 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Moved into our current house 12 years ago.  Has a really nice balcony overlooking the greenbelt.  Wheedled @Pescado_Rojo into helping me move some stuff over there the first day or so.  After we get it unloaded, I show him around, take him out on the back deck to admire the view.  

He observes "nice deck . . . . . . . have you pissed off of it yet?"

I was goddamned annoyed that I hadn't even thought of it yet.  We promptly christened the deck and the yard below.

Speaking of fucked up timelines...that was 12 years ago? 

[Brisketexan 105315]

49 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Speaking of fucked up timelines...that was 12 years ago? 

Sigh.  Yeah.  Or it may have been 11.  I really can't remember.

[DaysOff 7971]

Hydrogen fuel cells need to be the way forward for all automobiles. We need a dictator who says this is the way and everyone is required to comply. Just not a Trumpy dictator.

[RDCanecutter 26468]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Moved into our current house 12 years ago.  Has a really nice balcony overlooking the greenbelt.  Wheedled @Pescado_Rojo into helping me move some stuff over there the first day or so.  After we get it unloaded, I show him around, take him out on the back deck to admire the view.  

He observes "nice deck . . . . . . . have you pissed off of it yet?"

I was goddamned annoyed that I hadn't even thought of it yet.  We promptly christened the deck and the yard below.

Dear Penthouse...

[tbone_ 14157]

Serious question - does it really matter until the 4 billion people in China, India, and Africa gaf?

[Celery Man 20996]

2 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Growing up in Central America 

now I get your username 

 

We could do way better, I shouldn’t really judge, but I see the land cows loading up pallets of plastic water bottles up on their carts at Costco and I do judge. All the fucking gas to drive a bunch of water all over the place too, goddamn.

 

tell you what isn’t saving the fucking planet - letting the yellow mellow. Flush the damn toilet.

 

 

[Gil Bang 26007]

18 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Well that could be true, but to what extent do we know that to be true? I also think the concerns about battery production and mineral mining get a little bit overplayed by EV opponents, i.e. the O&G industry. However, there is little transparency on this point, so people are left to form their own opinions. If you have some good links, please share.

And FWIW, the Salton Sea in California apparently has enough lithium to produce millions of EVs. If that production becomes operational and gets scaled up, it could entirely eliminate our need to get lithium elsewhere.

That's an area that I'm VERY familiar with.  It's one of the most economically-depressed areas in CA, and probably the US.  

And the Salton Sea, where I went waterskiing and fishing so many times as a youngster, is a mess. 

[RDCanecutter 26468]

1 minute ago, Gil Bang said:

And the Salton Sea, where I went waterskiing and fishing so many times as a youngster, is a mess. 

On the upside, there is enough lithium left in your body to power all our batteries.

[InkaUtexas 26093]

40 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

now I get your username 

 

We could do way better, I shouldn’t really judge, but I see the land cows loading up pallets of plastic water bottles up on their carts at Costco and I do judge. All the fucking gas to drive a bunch of water all over the place too, goddamn.

 

tell you what isn’t saving the fucking planet - letting the yellow mellow. Flush the damn toilet.

 

 

Tell me you did not hang out in ILAS. Inca's are South America. Maya (and others, Lempa, Pipil, etc) are Central America. And Panama is not part of either according to my middle school teachers. It is just a bridge. 

[Celery Man 20996]

You could have stopped in Central America to grow up on your way to Texas.

[RDCanecutter 26468]

6 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Tell me you did not hang out in ILAS. Inca's are South America. Maya (and others, Lempa, Pipil, etc) are Central America. And Panama is not part of either according to my middle school teachers. It is just a bridge. 

Since I remain a stout believer in the Treaty of Tordesillas, Panama is still and has been part of the Viceroyalty of Peru*, and any claims otherwise are the enraged croakings of heretic toads and bandits.

*Yes, we have heard of the recent (1717) establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, but we remain unimpressed.

Therefore, there can be no independent Panama, the idea is ridiculous. I laugh, Sir, I LAUGH. 

Nor is there a "canal." Mere fables meant to distract us from El Dorado.

[InkaUtexas 26093]

18 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Since I remain a stout believer in the Treaty of Tordesillas, Panama is still and has been part of the Viceroyalty of Peru*, and any claims otherwise are the enraged croakings of heretic toads and bandits.

*Yes, we have heard of the recent (1717) establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, but we remain unimpressed.

Therefore, there can be no independent Panama, the idea is ridiculous. I laugh, Sir, I LAUGH. 

Nor is there a "canal." Mere fables meant to distract us from El Dorado.

Darien farts in your general direction. And Noriega said blame Spain for the runways and lost funds. Yep, they stole it to pay for some conquest of Portugal or some shit like that. 

[Zepol87 9191]

8 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Gardening and chickens.... Yep, would love to see more of that. I live in a town with a lot of green space, but few community gardens. A few years ago they closed the Victory Garden I was a member at. Combined the 20 people on small plots delivered quite a bit of fresh and seasonal produce to the local food bank. 

When I was living on a bit of land (7 acres) we had 3 gardens on low use drip systems on either rain where possible. The rest was off a well. we had about 30 chickens and some ducks. Every week loaded up eggs and took them to that towns food bank. 

We could do a lot more. And sorry, you don't need strawberries at all times. Transportation of luxury foods has environmental impacts on all, and some society impacts where it is grown. Avocados and Quinoa come to mind. 

Community gardens are awesome, my old neighborhood had a few and it was pretty cool to see until some bitch asses started to complain that people not from our neighborhood were coming in and getting some vegetables and then the HOA closed them. So stupid

7 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

Trains and buses.

If you really love adventure, it's right downtown at the Greyhound station. The passengers are generally politer than anything on a plane these days. It's the best way to see the countryside, and if you ride one down to Mexico you can hook up with the best network of buses I've yet to see, with bustling terminals like mini-airports.

If you don't want to leave the US, you can still go international with the half-hidden routes of China buses or Mexico buses. These two usually stop near bustling ethnic emporia that are interesting in their own right. If you are White, you may have to convince people you really want to ride, but that will be a heartwarming part of your future travel tales.

Maybe you say, "Cool, RD, but I can't help it, I am just too damn fancy to ride on a bus," well I gotcha brother. Book Amtrak and get a big-ass fancy sleeper room. The conductor is your guard and servant, and you have dining privileges vs the Irish down in Coach. There will be inexplicable delays and/or shortages announced in brutal fashion over the intercom by people fired from subway systems for poor enunciation, but it all just washes over you as you lounge on your own private toilet seat.

Greyhound I don't like because of way too many stops but I took Turimex from Oak Cliff to Monterrey every couple of weeks for about 5 months and it was awesome. Amtrak is fun as well, took it from Dallas to Chicago one time and had a blast playing spades with some dude who just got out of prison in St. Louis, wild stories on that thing but a lot of fun

[Dilligas 666]

7 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Question for anyone that knows anything about batteries... why don't they last forever? What's the process whereby a battery holds less of a charge over time? Are they able to be renewed?

Guessing because those companies would go out of business. I still envision huge warehouses full of inventions that would make gas/oil engines obsolete, batteries that last forever, etc. that were purchased by conglomerates/Illuminati in order to keep the profits for shareholders and mega bonuses coming. But that may be slightly cynical.

I take plastics, paper, glass to a weekly collection spot in Bulverde but realistically a little research tells me most of the shit ends up in a landfill. Just because it has a triangle on it means nothing, but I guess every little bit helps. GoogleTube it

[Zepol87 9191]

One thing I’ve realized since moving to LA is grocery bag bullshit. I used to go to Kroger or whatever and not think about having 30 bags of shit, out here I feel like a huge asshole if I don’t bring my bags in with me. They were 2 dollars at Trader Joe’s and they can hold a decent amount of stuff vs a bunch of plastic bags. 

[956 Worldwide 34755]

6 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Used to go to Mexico as a kid and stop by the Coca Cola plant to get a 24 pack of bottled cokes. When they were empty, return them. All the bottles had this great wear and scratches all over them.

I grew up in the RGV and would load up the back of my Dodge with Mexican cokes, haul them back to college, and sell cold Mexican coke out of the dorm mini fridge. If you brought the bottle back you got some money back. Then bring the empties back at next break and stock up on a new load.  Helped pay for a Spring Break ski trip. 

[956 Worldwide 34755]

8 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

One thing I’ve realized since moving to LA is grocery bag bullshit. I used to go to Kroger or whatever and not think about having 30 bags of shit, out here I feel like a huge asshole if I don’t bring my bags in with me. They were 2 dollars at Trader Joe’s and they can hold a decent amount of stuff vs a bunch of plastic bags. 

This and the recycling got me when I returned from six years in Europe.  I nearly always turn down the plastic bag when the clerk goes for one.  And as mentioned up-thread, I feel like a heathen just throwing my recyclables in with the rest of the trash. 
 

We use a LOT of plastic shit here. It’s really noticeable. 

[Gil Bang 26007]

37 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

One thing I’ve realized since moving to LA is grocery bag bullshit. I used to go to Kroger or whatever and not think about having 30 bags of shit, out here I feel like a huge asshole if I don’t bring my bags in with me. They were 2 dollars at Trader Joe’s and they can hold a decent amount of stuff vs a bunch of plastic bags. 

You moved? I missed that. Where are you now?

[Brisketexan 105315]

You moved? I missed that. Where are you now?

He just said LA. It’s like San Diego, but not.

[Gil Bang 26007]

 

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

He just said LA. It’s like San Diego, but not.

It's a generic term.  He might mean Silver Lake, he might mean El Segundo or Inglewood, he might mean Monterey Park, Woodland Hills, Pacoima, or Highland Park.  LA is a big mofo. 

[Brisketexan 105315]

 
It's a generic term.  He might mean Silver Lake, he might mean El Segundo or Inglewood, he might mean Monterey Park, Woodland Hills, Pacoima, or Highland Park.  LA is a big mofo. 

[Celery Man 20996]

Inglewood is always up to no good.

[Zepol87 9191]

59 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

You moved? I missed that. Where are you now?

Monterey Park, office is in Glendale 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Zepol87

[Gil Bang 26007]

14 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

Monterey Park, office is in Glendale 

@Brisketexan there you go.  MP is  NOT in the CIty of Los Angeles, but it's "LA" for sure. 

Meanwhile, Zep "might" have yellow fever. 

[troph 24905]

23 hours ago, BamaATL said:

The reality of power generation is that we simply don't have enough of it, period.  Hydro is good, but ecologically damaging in its own right, and expensive (at least initially).  Nuclear is great, minus the huge initial cost (the new Votgle reactor only cost 13B and counting), and the part potentially glowing in the dark thing (our shit is pretty safe, and while we have talented engineers with great knowledge, failure of imagination is real).  We don't get much in wind here, not sustainable like in the Plains, but even there the actual output isn't great.  Solar panels are grossly inefficient, and rely largely on the same mining techniques as lithium, plus expensive.  The reason we have coal is simple, it's cheap.  So while I wouldn't mind personally paying say $100.00 more a month to ensure clean or cleaner energy usage, I gotta feeling with most people that shit don't fly.  

I blame the EV owner because most of them are blathering idiots that think nothing of the actual costs of things (environmental in this case).  Combine that with the fact that they just want to look "cool".  The better choice is keeping an older vehicle; you know the reduce portion of reduce, reuse, recycle.  I have no problem on calling someone out for attempting to conceal their vapidness with being "environmentally" engaged.  

I have an electric car, it’s almost 8 years old, I have no intention of selling it any time soon, it’s powered by solar, at this point the only pollution is the tires. I’d prefer we stop strip mining minerals and am hopeful for new battery technology to make that more realistic. Am I vapid and and trying to be cool? 

[InkaUtexas 26093]

Yes...... 

[troph 24905]

@wild_turkey your running shoes my tennis shoes. Ugh. 

we’ve slowly been working on single use plastic that’s a nightmare. I do think Austin area does a decent job on recycle. We’ve added a styrofoam bin in our garage the Austin Business Center claims to recycle it.  We also take every bag that can be recycled at H‑E‑B up there. But in the end ugh, single use plastic.

we subscribe and pay $50 a month to terra pass for carbon offsets for travel. 

We have a very efficient home a significant amount of our power comes from solar. but the environmental cost to build is scary for any build. Ours has a lot of concrete - tons of greenhouse gases. 

[troph 24905]

8 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Yes...... 

Because why? Because our primary driver is electric? Jesus man. It’s an older car, I fucking hate the gas station, I hate changing oil and fluids and all that shit, it saves me cash, and the way we power it, we have a compelling clean use case understanding the build not so much. But newsflash the energy and impact cost of building just about anything is high, hence don’t replace. Now if I was trading in electric vehicles every 2 years I’d agree with you about trying to be cool.  But as it stands I’m not trying to be cool, I am cool.
 

Edited November 10, 2023 by troph

[wild_turkey 3182]

Because why? Because our primary driver is electric? Jesus man.

I think Inka was on your side, supporting your rebuttal of BamaATL’s post.

[wild_turkey 3182]

Christmas and other holidays

My wife wanted some Halloween yard decorations, like plastic skeletons and shit, and I talked her out of it because I didn't want to purchase a bunch of new plastic shit that we don't really need. I do like many of the Halloween decorations in our neighborhood, but it makes me uneasy buying 4 plastic skeletons and thinking about what will happen to them in a few years when we tire of them. I suppose we could bury the poor bastards.

Christmas is upon us, which is my personal favorite holiday. We decorate the house and yard, and that includes lights, some of which are incadescent. We already have the lights. If the incadescent bulbs wear out, we'll probably buy LED next time around. I wonder if Christmas lights will be a thing in ~50 years, and I hope we've innovated and engineered our way to allow those types of simple pleasures. If our energy capabilities can't sustain that, then there's a lot of other things on the chopping block that also bring joy to people.

How do we feel about real trees vs. artificial? I don't have any idea the balance on this one. I like real trees but my allergies have likely relegated me to the land of artificial trees for life.

Wrapping paper feels like a humongous waste. I wish everyone could agree that newspaper is sufficient, or come up with a better system for reusable gift bags for gifts of every occasion. I suspect wrapping paper will eventually be a relic of the past.

Edited November 10, 2023 by wild_turkey

[wild_turkey 3182]

Double post.

Edited November 10, 2023 by wild_turkey

[InkaUtexas 26093]

50 minutes ago, troph said:

Because why? Because our primary driver is electric? Jesus man. It’s an older car, I fucking hate the gas station, I hate changing oil and fluids and all that shit, it saves me cash, and the way we power it, we have a compelling clean use case understanding the build not so much. But newsflash the energy and impact cost of building just about anything is high, hence don’t replace. Now if I was trading in electric vehicles every 2 years I’d agree with you about trying to be cool.  But as it stands I’m not trying to be cool, I am cool.
 

Being an ass. Did you forget what site you are on? And don't ask me what me and my wife drive. Let's just say we are not Surly 1%. 

[PTINS 3481]

Good Thread.

Full disclosure, Austinite, born & raised, Jeffersonian idealist, Engineer by training (Energy & Fluid Systems), Natural Gas Liquid specialist (Retired), Ranch owner, Texas Ecologist, manage ranch for wildlife habitat so deer can grow up big and strong, then we shoot them. 

Sustainability. Start with yourself. I think OP mentioned he runs. My BIL was a career military pilot, ran all the time, until all the cartilage in his knees was gone.  I practiced yoga daily for 20+ years, no cartilage in my thumbs. Thanks Apple.

I went to the Cardiologist because I was getting ready to turn.65. Had a quintuple bypass 2 weeks later. Classic case of healthy individual, no symptoms. After the fact, he told me he was surprised I could even walk.

 The human body is a marvel of engineering, take care of it; it only has so many cycles in it, use them wisely. 

Doc said keep doing what makes you happy.

My random comments.

  

The primary advantage of plastic was weight v. steel, glass, wood, etc., and the cost of shipping same. Every pound of reduced packing meant another pound of revenue producing product sold. That hasn't changed, meaning plastics are still cheaper than the alternative.  Reductions in the numbers of ocean going freighters, 18 wheelers and diesel driven trains have proportionally reduced the burning of the dirtiest of liquid hydrocarbons. But at a cost of increased "disposable" packaging that is not easily recycled.

I am not familiar with the sausage making equivalent of recycling plastics down to a usable form, but world class petrochemical plants that "crack" hydrocarbons into ethylene, to make polyethylene, and high density polyethylene and  made-in-china-toys  need the purest of feedstocks to insure the highest quality of plastics desired.  Those requirements do not support large scale commercial plastics recycling that include 100's if not 1,000's of different types of plastic products.  One plant manager told me they could "crack" car tires if we could get them to the plant.  They only need ~ 12,000,000 pounds/day.

I enjoy the dialog on the merits of individual recycling, getting it from Amazon and Walmart to the blue recycling bin on trash day, but the lack of demand for the recycled plastics, whatever that may be, is the root cause. Where is Kamala Harris?

If the economics work, people will do it. If not, they won't. 

Global Warming:  8 billion people at 98.6 °F, approximately 30 ° warmer than the ambient temperature, generate a lot of heat, which warms the atmosphere. If everybody would simply hold their breath for 4 minutes, the problem would go away.

People have burned coal for centuries, we started burning processed natural gas in the last 100 years. We as in not China, India, Africa, or ~ 80% of the world population.  Now, "we" want to get rid of it before 80% of the world gets to try it.  CO2 is "bad", Oxygen is good, plants are good, plants die without CO2, and people die without plants. 

Renewable Energy makes sense, but the economics, unsubsidized, have to work. My new water well is 100% solar.

Water:  Forget Lake Travis water levels. The Trinity Aquifer water level dropped over fifty feet in less than 2 years. Ground water use in Texas is not sustainable, and it is getting exponentially worse every day. 

EV's make a lot of sense in urban settings, especially for vehicles that travel the same routes all the time, like rental car shuttles, Amazon trucks, city buses, etc.  50 miles west of I-35, large pickups will always greatly outnumber EV's. Not because people are bad, just the day to day realities of life in rural areas. 

Amazon:  I don't like the volume of cardboard boxes and plastic shipping bags we get. But the convenience of home shopping, and paying ~ 2/3 the costs of everyday goods v. any retail store cannot be beat.  Economics wins again.

Society in General: Entropy is a scientific concept that matter and energy in the universe will degrade to an ultimate state of inert disorder.   I believe that is where we are heading.

Oil & Gas: Saved the whales! Before that, people used whale oil for light and lubricants.

Battery powered hand tools are the greatest thing since sliced bread! Beats the hell out of gas engines or manual labor. Much more valuable in the country v. the city.

Everybody I know has gotten old... but me.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your insight.

[Biff Tannen 45728]

13 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

Book Amtrak and get a big-ass fancy sleeper room. The conductor is your guard and servant, and you have dining privileges vs the Irish down in Coach.

God damn

[InkaUtexas 26093]

Water:  Forget Lake Travis water levels. The Trinity Aquifer water level dropped over fifty feet in less than 2 years. Ground water use in Texas is not sustainable, and it is getting exponentially worse every day. 

Yep. FIL spent his career studying water and river in Texas. His take. We are fucked. Stop building now, and maybe, if we get a few good hurricanes. 

A good book for anyone interested in water, ya know, that important thing, is "When the Rivers Run Dry". 

 

[Neonmoon 38130]

4 hours ago, PTINS said:

Good Thread.

Full disclosure, Austinite, born & raised, Jeffersonian idealist, Engineer by training (Energy & Fluid Systems), Natural Gas Liquid specialist (Retired), Ranch owner, Texas Ecologist, manage ranch for wildlife habitat so deer can grow up big and strong, then we shoot them. 

Sustainability. Start with yourself. I think OP mentioned he runs. My BIL was a career military pilot, ran all the time, until all the cartilage in his knees was gone.  I practiced yoga daily for 20+ years, no cartilage in my thumbs. Thanks Apple.

I went to the Cardiologist because I was getting ready to turn.65. Had a quintuple bypass 2 weeks later. Classic case of healthy individual, no symptoms. After the fact, he told me he was surprised I could even walk.

 The human body is a marvel of engineering, take care of it; it only has so many cycles in it, use them wisely. 

Doc said keep doing what makes you happy.

My random comments.

  

The primary advantage of plastic was weight v. steel, glass, wood, etc., and the cost of shipping same. Every pound of reduced packing meant another pound of revenue producing product sold. That hasn't changed, meaning plastics are still cheaper than the alternative.  Reductions in the numbers of ocean going freighters, 18 wheelers and diesel driven trains have proportionally reduced the burning of the dirtiest of liquid hydrocarbons. But at a cost of increased "disposable" packaging that is not easily recycled.

I am not familiar with the sausage making equivalent of recycling plastics down to a usable form, but world class petrochemical plants that "crack" hydrocarbons into ethylene, to make polyethylene, and high density polyethylene and  made-in-china-toys  need the purest of feedstocks to insure the highest quality of plastics desired.  Those requirements do not support large scale commercial plastics recycling that include 100's if not 1,000's of different types of plastic products.  One plant manager told me they could "crack" car tires if we could get them to the plant.  They only need ~ 12,000,000 pounds/day.

I enjoy the dialog on the merits of individual recycling, getting it from Amazon and Walmart to the blue recycling bin on trash day, but the lack of demand for the recycled plastics, whatever that may be, is the root cause. Where is Kamala Harris?

If the economics work, people will do it. If not, they won't. 

Global Warming:  8 billion people at 98.6 °F, approximately 30 ° warmer than the ambient temperature, generate a lot of heat, which warms the atmosphere. If everybody would simply hold their breath for 4 minutes, the problem would go away.

People have burned coal for centuries, we started burning processed natural gas in the last 100 years. We as in not China, India, Africa, or ~ 80% of the world population.  Now, "we" want to get rid of it before 80% of the world gets to try it.  CO2 is "bad", Oxygen is good, plants are good, plants die without CO2, and people die without plants. 

Renewable Energy makes sense, but the economics, unsubsidized, have to work. My new water well is 100% solar.

Water:  Forget Lake Travis water levels. The Trinity Aquifer water level dropped over fifty feet in less than 2 years. Ground water use in Texas is not sustainable, and it is getting exponentially worse every day. 

EV's make a lot of sense in urban settings, especially for vehicles that travel the same routes all the time, like rental car shuttles, Amazon trucks, city buses, etc.  50 miles west of I-35, large pickups will always greatly outnumber EV's. Not because people are bad, just the day to day realities of life in rural areas. 

Amazon:  I don't like the volume of cardboard boxes and plastic shipping bags we get. But the convenience of home shopping, and paying ~ 2/3 the costs of everyday goods v. any retail store cannot be beat.  Economics wins again.

Society in General: Entropy is a scientific concept that matter and energy in the universe will degrade to an ultimate state of inert disorder.   I believe that is where we are heading.

Oil & Gas: Saved the whales! Before that, people used whale oil for light and lubricants.

Battery powered hand tools are the greatest thing since sliced bread! Beats the hell out of gas engines or manual labor. Much more valuable in the country v. the city.

Everybody I know has gotten old... but me.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your insight.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Neonmoon

[troph 24905]

5 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

 

I think Inka was on your side, supporting your rebuttal of BamaATL’s post.

 

I hate being a lawyer sometimes. I’ve been arguing with assholes all day. Gives me an itchy trigger finger.