|
eco-tips.mkolar.org
Under slow continuous development - Last updated: Jan. 8, 2016
March, 2007: It now seems that ethanol-blended gasoline does actually not
produce less pollution than ordinary gasoline, see for example this report.
I have also seen claims that to produce 1 litre of biodiesel, about 0.8 litre
of gasoline are needed to power agricultural machinery used to grow biomass
for biodiesel production.
Thus the only advantage of bio-fuels seems to be that there are made from
renewable sources. However, drive for large scale production of bio-fuels
may lead (has already led) to more deforestation
or to the decrease of land area available for food production. Apparently, only
bio-fuels produced from organic wastes or using existing arable land that is
currently not needed for food production are having an overall positive effect.
Again, the best way to help environment is to decrease energy consumption.
June 2007: Peak Soil: Why cellulosic ethanol, biofuels are unsustainable and a threat to America
---------------
Original text: Nature-friendly vehicle fuels from renewable resources:
Canadian Renewable Fuels
Mohawk’s ethanol-blended gasoline
BIO-DIESEL:
Bio-diesel is essentially solar energy transformed by photosynthesis,
can be produced
from fast growing algae, also some of the vast amounts of land in North America used
for grazing animals and producing cattle feed could be switched to
growing plants for bio-diesel production. The most energy efficient and still affordable
vehicles at the present state of technology are diesel-electric hybrids.
Canadian Bio-diesel Information Centre
The Veggie Van in 2008 - find a book there with instructions how to make
your own bio-diesel from the used vegetable oil.
The Veggie Van in 2018
The Veggie Van now
Calgary Boiled Frog Co-op makes biodiesel
Crude Country Biofuels (Calgary) converts diesel engines to straight vegetable oil
National Biodiesel Board (USA)
http://www.biodieselcanadainc.com - Bio-Diesel Canada (gone; thus confirming
biodiesel unsustainability?)
http://www.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/newsworld/viewer.cgi?FILE=NL20021212.html&TEMPLATE=newsreal_archive.ssi&SC=NL - was: CBC on Biodiesel
CBC: Carbon Conundrum
From Alberta Motor Association Newsletter:
"Biodiesel is a growing phenomenon in Europe where 30 per cent of passenger
vehicles are diesel (compared to one to two per cent in North America).
In Germany, for example, 1,100 stations sell biodiesel.
Pure Plant Oil Fuel for Cuba
|
|
Contact
|
2012, Graham Turner: population and resource peak predicted to occur in 2030 in the 1972 Club-of-Rome business-as-usual scenario seems to be almost on track:
|
Radio Ecoshock
City Farmer News
An inconvenient truth
Another Inconvenient Truth: meat eating not sustainable at all; see also below
|
Do you know that the best, most economical and environmentally friendly, way to warm up your car engine
is to drive away (slowly) immediately (within seconds) after you start the engine?
Modern vehicles are built to go from cold, and idling a vehicle to warm it up wastes gas and offers little benefit.
As long as the windows are frost free, a vehicle can be driven as soon as it is started.
Remote car starters are horrible for environment - you often see people starting their car half an hour or even longer before they get in them.
|
Conference: Degrowth in the Americas, May 13-19, 2012
|
Other eco tips pages:
---
Post-industrial diaper recycling
|
|
To produce 1 kg of beef requires on average 10 kg of grains that could be eaten directly instead.
The current world production of grains, is about two billion tons annually.
That is enough, in theory, to feed 10 billion primarily vegetarian East Indians.
But the same amount can support only about 2.5 billion Americans, who convert a large part of their grains into livestock and poultry.
Meat over-consumption causes many health problems, which in turn lead to high medical system costs.
Thus decreasing
meat consumption could lead to many beneficial effects for the environment: would decrease medical costs,
free land for bio-diesel production (see above), in total would decrease our over-all energy
consumption, decrease our per capita ecological food print, improve environment.
There is no need to become a complete vegetarian but gradually reducing your meat consumption
would be very beneficial for you.
July 28, 2008:
Another Inconvenient Truth: meat consumption must be stopped completely!
|
|
|
