Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Could biodiesel power future rockets?
Industry worries as California takes lead in setting bio-fuel rules
Biofuels more harmful to humans than petrol and diesel, warn scientists
New biomass charcoal heater: A ‘new era’ of efficiency and sustainability
EntropyPawsed: Heating With Wood
Oslo to run buses powered by biomethane from human sewage
ITER: Flagship fusion reactor could cost twice as much as budgeted
Renewable energy in New Zealand (video)
Sustainable Cooking Stoves
Saving the Economy, One Furnace at a Time
The Roots of Energy Efficiency
A Chill Blows Through Wind Power
Ever since I read the Kinsale Energy Descent Action Plan I realised that the next step would be a detailed accounting of energy consumption for a town or region, and an analysis of potential local renewable supplies. The Mayo Energy Audit does all this and more and represents an important next step in the energy descent process for County Mayo in the West of Ireland.
From the hills of the Deccan Plateau in western India’s state of Maharashtra, the world of export fuels is unimaginable. In these hill villages firewood is still the primary fuel. In the hour before the sun goes down over the hills and the temperature drops, women bearing head loads of bundles of light branches head back to their simple homes. What these families have in common with many hundreds of thousands of households in rural India is their continued reliance on wood as fuel, whether for cooking or, as in these windswept hills, for keeping warm.
As peak oil arrives, and many Americans turn to wood fuel for heating and cooking, how can we mitigate the problems of particulate pollution and deforestation? Let’s talk about ways to get the appropriate information, skills, and technologies out to the public.
Carbon: The Biochar Solution
Going hungry in the 21st century
Seawater holds key to future food
The hidden cost of our growing taste for meat
Plan for tax on cow gas stinks, US farmers say
After an oil peak, pressure will increase to cut trees to serve as fuel for heating and cooking fires, as well as to clear land for agriculture. Many other countries who have faced this pressure have become bleak places prone to soil erosion, mudslides, dust storms and finally, desertification.
When electricity becomes too expensive, unreliable, or rationed, many people will very likely turn to wood to meet their heating and cooking needs. This strategy is valid and sensible for many reasons, and probably necessary in some parts of the country, but I think we should also examine the downside of using wood as a primary fuel source, and examine ways to mitigate the problems associated with burning wood.
World Willing to Pay More for Green Energy
Britain’s water mills given role in clean energy generation
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Right to eat comes before fuel, Swiss minister says
South Korean company takes over part of Madagascar to grow biofuels
Cutting Emissions in Rural China
Heating effectively with wood requires that one become what I call a woodburning gourmet. To make a really good fire, the wood should be cut and split and allowed to dry for two years in the rick. Dry wood throws at least a third more heat than green wood, and if it burns with a good draft, it does not violate pollution codes and does not block the chimney with creosote.
