My mission is to live as sustainably as I can and share my actions and ideas so that others may benefit from what I have learned.
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Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Seeing our property as a spaceship
Sometimes I think of our property in terms of a spaceship in the sense that we operate within a largely closed ecosystem. We have a deep drilled well that goes down over 150 feet into the granite that provides reliable freshwater. And our waste goes out through a 1000 gallon septic tank and into a leach field. The solids are pumped out every 5 years by a company that delivers the waste to a company that converts it to fertilizer. So our water system is effectively a closed loop much as it is on the International Space Station where some waste is jettsoned.
Similarly, we generate a more than half of our electrical energy on an annualized basis from our 5.7 kW solar array which not only powers both buildings but also charges our Chevy Volt electric vehicle. When utility power fails as it did in a recent snowstorm where we lost power for two days, our 5 kW propane generator automatically kicks in to power the entire property. We keep enough propane stored in the tanks (pictured above right) to operate the generator for over a week and have relied on it for up to five days during extended storm outages.
Domestic hot water in the house is largely heated by the solar collectors on the south wall of the house (visible below the windows), and 4 solar collectors contribute a large percentage of the heat to my workshop in the winter. Both buildings utilize propane heaters as primary or secondary heat sources, and both have substantial wood stoves. The fire wood we burn is sourced locally, and much of the firewood for my workshop is hand cut by me from our own woods. Again, our energy sources are largely independent and we do our best to limit our use of propane.
Being conscious of this largely closed/locally sourced ecosystem of our property informs my perspective about living sustainably. For the first part of my adult life I lived in urban environments - mostly in rented artists lofts and realize looking back that this filtered my perspective. I was completely disconnected from the energy sources and resources that I used. As a renter I never paid a water or sewer bill directly, and even the electric bill was an affordable abstraction.
I have a sense of comfort and also pride in full ownership of my property and the bulk of my resources. I am also aware that I am fortunate to be the kind of person who can fix almost anything and rarely have to bring in any kind of contractor, or service person. Many of my rural neighbors take this lifestyle completely for granted which explains the stereotypical independent Maine character.
I wish that more people had the opportunity to live as I do and be fully conscious of the infrastructure that supports me. Since 2009 more than 50% of humanity now lives in an urban environment. This level of disconnect from energy sources and the natural environment is affecting humanity's perception in unfortunate ways. If we could all just zoom back all the way to look at our beautiful blue marble planet as the finite resource that it is, I think humanity at large would be far more committed to living sustainably.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman has been on the ISS for months now and posts stunning pictures of Earth via twitter almost daily. Like anyone who has been in space he falls passionately in love with our beautiful planet - he took the picture at the top of my page. Similarly Canadian astronaut commander Chris Hadfield has just released a beautiful photo book of the pictures he took from the space station. Everyone who has the opportunity of seeing the earth from space goes through a spiritual transformation based on that perspective.
I invite you, my dear reader to pull back your cosmic zoom to encompass the infrastructure that surrounds you all the way from your sources of power and water on out to a full view of the planet. We all live on spaceship Earth with very finite resources that we are abusing at a staggering rate. It's time we all woke up and took full responsibility for every aspect of our energy consumption.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Automating dawn to dusk energy recovery ventilation
Light sensitive relay control for HRV |
Back in 2008 I had installed a Heat Recovery Ventilator in my well sealed and super insulated workshop in order to get fresh air into my office in the winter when the windows are also closed up and sealed with my DIY interior storm windows. I was running this HRV on a programmable digital timer and found that I needed to keep adjusting the settings so that it would turn on after sunrise and turn off around sunset. It just occurred to me that I could build a device that would do this automatically based on the ambient light in my utility room that has a south facing window. Being an electrical engineer who designs products for living, it was relatively simple for me to design a circuit for this application. The device is pictured above and plugs into an outlet just like a wall power adapter. It contains a simple circuit that reads a photocell and activates an internal solid-state relay based on the light level set by an adjustable knob.
Now my HRV automatically operates only from dawn to dusk, keeping the air in my office fresh while I am there and saving energy when it is not needed.
For the DIY inclined, here is a link to the schematic of the circuit I built. I am considering making a small production run of these useful light triggered switches, so drop me a line if you have an interest and I will consider making a batch of them. This is the opposite of the kind of device you would use to turn on a Christmas tree light at night and I am pretty sure there is nothing commercially available that turns on power when the room light gets brighter. I built everything into an AC wall plug enclosure made by Polycase, but it could be built into a standard electrical box with an extension cord spliced into it.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Landfill Mining - potential gold mines
Book review of the graphic novel: "Climate Changed - a Personal Journey Through the Science"
I am not in the habit of reading graphic novels, they are much more prevalent in Europe, but I felt compelled to read this particular book because the author balances a personal and well researched science perspective on the subject. The book blends Philippe's journey to research the issue with detailed scientific information portrayed by talking heads representing climate science experts. He uses charts, graphics and a few photographic images to illustrate his story points, but most of the novel centers around his beautiful hand rendered drawings. This makes for a compelling read as his personal narrative involves discussions with his wife and the decisions he makes to adjust his lifestyle based on his insights into this issue. In a sense the book reads like storyboards for a documentary film and one comes away from it feeling as if one has been watching a movie.
Philippe explores every aspect of the climate change issue, not just the climate science itself but the personal, societal, financial, and political aspects amongst others. He creates a comprehensive perspective and struggles as I do with the disappointing lack of political will to address this ongoing crisis on a global scale.
He quotes a number of experts and scientists who have interesting views on potential solutions to the larger problem and ends by saying: "Just because the answer is filled with gloom doesn't mean the question was pointless. To care how these questions are being asked shows that we care about the future. And who knows? I could be wrong. The story isn't over."
I agree with the author that humanity has not yet awoken to this issue, and by the time we do the situation will be dire. By that point our options will be very limited and as he say's: "We will accomplish this change under the worst conditions. Forced by circumstance. And way too late."
This is not to say that the book is all doom and gloom, it is a rich and easy read filled with glimpses into his life and lifestyle as a graphic novelist. He begins by exploring his childhood as a point of reference for the way things were as a way of contextualizing the impending changes that will occur in the world. The arc of the story jumps around in unpredictable ways juxtaposing autobiography with talking heads and statistical information so it keeps you on your toes. Clearly, it took years to create this book and I noticed that recent events such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster are absent. I admire the enormous effort it takes to create a graphic novel comprising over 460 pages of renderings.
Anyone who feels that they want to learn more about Climate Change will find this book offers a thorough overview of the science and thoughtful insights.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Warming oceans releasing methane = bad news
Over the last year or so the news has been getting pretty bleak. A significant issue is that while the surface temperature of the planet is not warming as much as expected in recent years, scientists have now found that that heat is going into the deep oceans. This is really bad news because those warming oceans are contributing to ocean acidification which is harmful to aquatic life, particularly coral reefs. As water warms it expands raising the average ocean levels. Warmer oceans also increase the melt rate of the polar ice caps. It is also bad news because the warming oceans in the Arctic are releasing methane in massive bursts from gas hydrates in the arctic ocean floor. Methane is 30 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and even if less than 1% of the methane trapped in the ocean floor were released we would be in really really deep shit. Here is a summary of the current science on this topic and its potential to cause abrupt climate change. Add to this the massive methane gas releases from melting permafrost and we have a serious problem.
What this means in the grand scheme of things is that most of the estimates that have been created about climate change and particularly ocean level rise are much more conservative than previously thought. Many climate scientists are saying that we can expect ocean levels to rise by up to 10 feet by 2100, but my interpretation of all the existing science would seem to indicate that we could expect much more than that. Many tipping points have already been crossed.
As I said in an earlier blog post (Bye-bye Beaches):
"This means that within your lifetime you will lose what cherished memories (of beaches) you have because we have so thoroughly screwed up the planet that the oceans will inevitably rise and take away many of our favorite places."
Is this the world we want to leave to our children and grandchildren? While climate change may seem such a large and abstract thing that is beyond our ability to respond to in a direct way, I personally am doing everything I can and "being the change I want to see in the world" as Gandhi thoughtfully suggested. It is up to every one of us to do our very best to reduce our use of fossil fuel and live a sustainable lifestyle. Almost every purchase we make can be a vote for a solution to the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Book review: "The Visual Handbook of Energy Conservation"
I have met Charlie on several occasions, in fact he used to live down the road from me before I moved here and he is well known in the midcoast Maine region as something of an expert on efficient building design and construction and he co-founded the Shelter Institute. He and I taught several workshops on how to make interior insulating storm windows, and he asked for my input when drafting the section in his book that refers to these windows. I was delighted to see that he acknowledged myself and some of my friends in the front of the book for our token contributions.
I will say it again: buy this book. You will not regret it.
(re-posted from my old blog from December 1, 2013)
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Installing a small Energy Recovery Ventilator for my home
TwinFresh Comfo HRV with remote control |
Here is a chart showing temperatures as it operates for 6 minutes with outside temperatures at around freezing:
As you can see the fresh air temperature entering the room averages only a few degrees below the inside ambient temperature.
Monday, October 6, 2014
"Fire! Fire!"
If someone stood up in a public space such as a theater or shopping mall and started yelling “Fire, Fire!” what do you think people would do? From an evolutionary perspective humans are barely out of the trees and our mammalian brains are still quite primitive in the way we respond to stimuli. What we would do in this situation is look around to see if we could see any fire and then sniff the air to see if we smelled smoke. Very primitive animalistic behavior that dates back millennia. Then we would either do nothing or possibly verbally or even physically attack the person foolish enough to have triggered a fear response - this reaction stems from an ancient fight or flight response to threat.
Climate scientists have been doing the equivalent of yelling “Fire!” for over 20 years. James Hansen who retired from an impressive career with NASA has been speaking publicly and warning anyone who will listen that climate change is a real and serious threat to humanity since the late 1980s. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed in 1988 under the auspices of the United Nations to provide credible information about climate change to world government bodies. This group has been collating and disseminating comprehensive reports on a frequent basis, and each one has been more and more dire with warnings about the outcome of global warming.
Unfortunately, climate change does not present itself as a clear and present danger and thus our monkey brains do not respond with a sense of immediacy. There is no clear and present risk to life, and the concept being abstract is not acted upon in a direct way. The threat is largely conceptual until we are confronted with an extreme weather event that may or may not be directly triggered by a changing global climate. Throughout the world for the last several years there have been so many extreme weather events that it is becoming routine to hear of massive floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, hailstorms, tornadoes etc. This is the new normal and still our monkey brains have not correlated these direct threats to our lives with the big picture.
Climate scientists like to tell the story of the frog in the pot. If you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will jump out immediately. But, if you place the frog in cool water and then slowly raise the temperature it will never notice until it has been boiled to death. So here we are swimming around in warming waters!
But we do have highly evolved brains with the capacity to extrapolate a threat into the future. Intellectually anyone who grasps the concept of climate change realizes that it will inevitably impact their lives in some form or other. The question is what can we do about it? For myself, I have dabbled in the world of politics and years ago I supported Dennis Kucinich in his presidential campaign because he was brave enough to speak about these issues. I have also lobbied for, and testified in front of state committees in support of renewable energy legislation. And have also worked on committees in my municipality to try to effect change. I have been so thoroughly discouraged by these experiences that I have now pulled back and I’m choosing to operate entirely within the realm of civil society.
Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying “Be the change you want to see in the world”, and that is what I am doing. By investing in renewable energy systems on my property and increasing the efficiency of my home and vehicles, I am modeling the change I would like to see in the world. By writing about it in social media I am sharing the choices that I have made and sincerely hope that in some small way I will influence other people to make similar decisions.
If you feel inspired to consider taking some direct action, I encourage you to visit the Sustainable Living section of my website where you will find pragmatic solutions that may resonate for you. I talk only about things that I have personally done to decrease my carbon footprint and live more sustainably, I make every attempt to keep my text clear and simple and I use lots of thoughtfully considered images.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
"It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)"
To put it in context, anytime there is a major news event that captures the attention of the world such as a hurricane, plane crash, or major terrorist activity - it becomes a topic of conversation in almost any social situation. Yet I cannot remember a single conversation that I have had with anyone about climate change in which climate change was recognized as the crisis that it is for humanity. In a sense we are at war with our climate, but this war is not a topic for conversation as it would be with any actual war in which humans slaughter each other.
I would very much like to see humanity wake up and respond to the ongoing crisis in the same way that we do after major hurricanes make landfall. I am was somewhat encouraged by the major climate awareness marches a few weeks ago in New York and other major cities, and sincerely hope that they will have some effect on global policy. But we need to bring this issue down to personal responsibility and direct action. We cannot trust our willfully ignorant elected officials many of whom are in complete denial about this issue to take assertive action. It is my feeling that we all need to have frank and open discussions with each other about what it is that we are doing and can do to protect future generations from the fallout of our actions or inactions today.
The fossil fuels that we are burning that pump massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere took millennia to create and store underground. Yet we have been removing and burning this stored energy over a period of a little more than a century which is an eyeblink in the context of geologic history. We have so little time to act to prevent the worst outcomes of our actions. Every day I learn that scientists are discovering new feedbacks that are accelerating change like the melting glaciers and ice caps and releases of methane as the permafrost is exposed to melting conditions.
So I am challenging myself and anyone reading this to go out and stimulate conversations amongst friends about this crisis. And more importantly take some form of direct action every single day. Almost every dollar we spend as individuals has an impact on climate change in some way or another. Becoming conscious of how we spend our money is equivalent to voting for change. Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy on any scale at all will make a difference.
For myself, I have invested tens of thousands of dollars over the last 13 years or so in improving efficiency and renewable energy systems for my property, and that has paid returns better than the stock market. We own electric and hybrid vehicles and our home and my workshop are both extremely efficient, requiring very little energy for heating, and lighting. I am still finding ways to improve small things. If you need some suggestions, go to my webpage: "Some notes on living sustainably".
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
The perfect washing machine
When my ex-wife moved into our current home in 2001 we purchased a new Staber washing machine. It is the most efficient washer available at the time based on energy, water, and detergent usage. It is particularly pleasing to know that it was designed and is still manufactured by a family owned business based in Ohio.
What is distinctive about this machine is that it is a top loading horizontal axis design. See this promotional video that shows its features, and a cool video about How It's Made. When you open the lid, you are presented with two stainless steel doors that open into a hexagonal washing chamber that rotates inside a larger water tank. This means that it uses significantly less water, detergent, and also electricity due to its very simple and elegant design.
The control panel is very simple and basic - yet has all the features needed.
I noticed a little water underneath the washing machine yesterday so I jumped into repairing it today. To be clear, this is the first repair I have had to do on this machine in over 13 years! I remembered that another major feature of this washer is that repairs can be accomplished from the front which is quite unique in the industry and a very thoughtful piece of design. It was quite simple to remove four screws from the bottom front edge and then take off the front. I discovered that a flexible rubber hose had developed a leaking seal where it exits the bottom of the large stainless steel water tank. It was a relatively simple matter to clean off the existing silicone sealant and replace it with new silicone. Problem solved!
While this machine is relatively expensive at $1300, I am sure it has saved us hundreds of dollars in energy, water, and detergent. Overall we have been extremely pleased with it. If you are looking to replace your machine with a beautifully engineered piece of American design and want something extremely efficient - look no further than Staber!
As of December 2022 this machine is still running great after 21 years! I did do one other minor repair that required that they sell me a small replacement part.