4 ms·

Logically, we should get rid of all combustion derived uses of energy - all the way from the roots-truck-branch-leaves. No sense to use an induction stove unles

Logically, we should get rid of all combustion derived uses of energy - all the way from the roots-truck-branch-leaves. No sense to use an induction stove unless the path from the root is green energised - although there is merit in a gradual progressive elimination of combustion throughout. I look at combustion as a waste of a feed stock - burning is the ultimate degradation - far better to make durable items from that feedstock. I look at cellulose as another feedstock that is also largely burned(fast flame or slow rot) as there are many items we can make from cellulose(trees/grass) and we can cement them with oil/gas as urethane glue. These huge wasted tonnages can all be feedstocks, potato rinds, peanut shells, wood chips = stuff we rot/burn or bury. That said, induction cooking is good, I bought a a small hotplate = water boiled for tea with no hugely warmed kitchen...

PaulHoule 4y ago
In NY we are hearing a lot of talk about the state wanting to phase out natural gas (and presumably propane.) I think there is a good case for that, but we are looking at what it would take to do it in our house and we would probably have to make major upgrades to the electrical system... We are doing major work on our rental property and this is a little hard to fit in in the long term. The point of the article though is what it shows about the US political system which is that issues are collected and developed by the major two parties. A person who is "interested in politics" here is not somebody who is thinking "let's donate to politicians and take other actions to shape policy the way I want" and instead more like "read a lot of opinion pieces, get really mad, vote for the same party we were going to vote for anyway." In one case you pick your politician to fit your policies, in the other you pick your policies to fit your party. There is not a competition between the two major parties but rather the two of them are working together to prevent competition from third parties that might be responsive to people -- and the appearance that they are fighting like cats and dogs about a carefully curated list of non-issues gives people a reason why it is never the time to vote for an alternative because "then the other major party will win." I was taking a seminar course about geoengineering when the pandemic hit and I was telling others in the group that I thought the pandemic was a fire drill for global governance, that it was a model for action against climate change, and remarkably there hadn't been a right-wing mobilization to stop action on the issue. Well, there was, it just took another six months. In the case of the "gas stove debate" we are witnessing the emergence of another wedge issue that people will still be fighting over 50 years from now if the right has its way.
- aurizon 4y ago
  I think oil and cellulose and chitin are on the cusp of earning their place as feedstocks(at various rates). As these values rise, they will compete with use as combustion inputs and one by one aspects of combustion will become marginalised and supplanted by higher uses. Cellulose is also known as viscose (AKA Rayon) and it one of the best higher uses of cellulose. Chitin is insect shell protein. Oil is depleting with time. Cellulose and chitin are made in huge volumes. Various chemical treatments/additions etc have a huge potential range of products that can be made with them. We grow trees = wood, many types. It should be possible to make a 'wood' from cellulose and chitin used in composite fiber/foam compound to create a wood that can be engineered in many ways. Wood is long fibers of cellulose with cells strung like beads along these fibers all glued with lignin into a solid. Grown wood is cheaper, but it should be possible to make an engineered cellular wood, based on viscose chemistry in time as wood prices climb.
nullish_signal 4y ago
>I look at combustion as a waste of a feed stock - burning is the ultimate degradation And yet you Burn Calories, using inhaled Oxygen. Curious!
- aurizon 4y ago
  Yes - I became an O2 addict early in cellular life, I can no longer use the blue-green pathway, no matter how it favors my film career, I am going to die of it some day...

PaulHoule 4y ago

In NY we are hearing a lot of talk about the state wanting to phase out natural gas (and presumably propane.) I think there is a good case for that, but we are looking at what it would take to do it in our house and we would probably have to make major upgrades to the electrical system... We are doing major work on our rental property and this is a little hard to fit in in the long term. The point of the article though is what it shows about the US political system which is that issues are collected and developed by the major two parties. A person who is "interested in politics" here is not somebody who is thinking "let's donate to politicians and take other actions to shape policy the way I want" and instead more like "read a lot of opinion pieces, get really mad, vote for the same party we were going to vote for anyway." In one case you pick your politician to fit your policies, in the other you pick your policies to fit your party. There is not a competition between the two major parties but rather the two of them are working together to prevent competition from third parties that might be responsive to people -- and the appearance that they are fighting like cats and dogs about a carefully curated list of non-issues gives people a reason why it is never the time to vote for an alternative because "then the other major party will win." I was taking a seminar course about geoengineering when the pandemic hit and I was telling others in the group that I thought the pandemic was a fire drill for global governance, that it was a model for action against climate change, and remarkably there hadn't been a right-wing mobilization to stop action on the issue. Well, there was, it just took another six months. In the case of the "gas stove debate" we are witnessing the emergence of another wedge issue that people will still be fighting over 50 years from now if the right has its way.

aurizon 4y ago
I think oil and cellulose and chitin are on the cusp of earning their place as feedstocks(at various rates). As these values rise, they will compete with use as combustion inputs and one by one aspects of combustion will become marginalised and supplanted by higher uses. Cellulose is also known as viscose (AKA Rayon) and it one of the best higher uses of cellulose. Chitin is insect shell protein. Oil is depleting with time. Cellulose and chitin are made in huge volumes. Various chemical treatments/additions etc have a huge potential range of products that can be made with them. We grow trees = wood, many types. It should be possible to make a 'wood' from cellulose and chitin used in composite fiber/foam compound to create a wood that can be engineered in many ways. Wood is long fibers of cellulose with cells strung like beads along these fibers all glued with lignin into a solid. Grown wood is cheaper, but it should be possible to make an engineered cellular wood, based on viscose chemistry in time as wood prices climb.

nullish_signal 4y ago

>I look at combustion as a waste of a feed stock - burning is the ultimate degradation And yet you Burn Calories, using inhaled Oxygen. Curious!

aurizon 4y ago
Yes - I became an O2 addict early in cellular life, I can no longer use the blue-green pathway, no matter how it favors my film career, I am going to die of it some day...