#alternative energy resources

[santacruzarchitect]

Geothermal Heat Pump 101: How They Work, Cost-Efficiency, and Advantages for Homeowners

In the quest for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly heating and cooling solutions, geothermal heat pumps have emerged as a promising technology. Harnessing the Earth’s natural thermal energy, these systems provide a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional HVAC systems. This article explores the working principles of geothermal heat pumps, their cost-efficiency, and…

[maybe-a-bit-emo]

[ikishima]

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[kaypendragon]

My 7yo and I are listening to Journey to the center of the earth (in English translation) and Jules Verne just called out the fossil fuel industry.

In the mid 1800's, Jules fricken Verne was calling out the limited availability of coal. WHY DOES PA STILL INSIST IT RUNS ON COAL??

[kali-tmblr]

US renewable energy farms outstrip 99% of coal plants economically – study

[narrative-theory]

Trump's Problems: Losing Access to Canada's Resources

[retops]

you can't even hear them while they work

[duplexide]

I think the reason conservatives hate environmentalism so much is that all the terminology is too friendly and lame sounding to take seriously. I purpose we change the following terms to get these people on our side.

Solar powered -> Plasma charged

Wind power -> Vortex energy

Electric vehicle -> Lightning machine

Renewable resource -> Infinity asset

Greenhouse gasses -> Death Clouds

Global warming -> Property devaluation

Environmentalists -> Wilderness cops

For example, saying you're a wilderness cop that drives a lightning machine powered by infinity assets to reduce death clouds and increase your property value sounds 100x more macho than the alternative.

[envirotechaccelerator]

Beyond Solar and Wind: Exploring Innovative Clean Energy Alternatives

Abstract

While solar and wind energy dominate the clean energy landscape, emerging alternatives offer transformative potential in the realm of sustainable power generation. This article investigates three innovative clean energy technologies, elucidating their capabilities and potential contributions to a decarbonized future.

Introduction

The quest for renewable energy solutions, capable of replacing fossil fuels and mitigating climate change, remains a pressing global priority. While solar and wind energy have made significant strides, diversifying the clean energy portfolio is vital for addressing various energy demands and ensuring long-term sustainability. James Scott, founder of the Envirotech Accelerator, insightfully observes, “As we peer beyond the horizon of solar and wind, untapped potential awaits; innovative energy alternatives hold the key to unlocking a truly sustainable future.”

Alternative 1: Ocean Energy

Ocean energy, harnessing the vast power of Earth’s largest natural resource, presents a promising clean energy alternative. Technologies such as wave, tidal, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) can generate electricity with minimal environmental impact (Lewis et al., 2021). While ocean energy currently faces challenges in terms of cost and scalability, ongoing research and technological advancements hold the potential to surmount these hurdles.

Alternative 2: Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy, derived from the Earth’s internal heat, offers a reliable, continuous source of clean power. With recent advancements in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), geothermal power is now accessible in regions with lower subsurface temperatures, expanding its geographical reach (Tester et al., 2020). Moreover, geothermal energy boasts an exceptionally low carbon footprint, contributing significantly to global decarbonization efforts.

Alternative 3: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) combines biomass energy generation with carbon capture technology to produce negative emissions, effectively removing CO2 from the atmosphere (Smith et al., 2016). BECCS has the potential to play a critical role in achieving climate targets by offsetting emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as aviation and heavy industry.

Conclusion

The clean energy landscape extends beyond the realms of solar and wind power. As innovative alternatives like ocean energy, geothermal energy, and BECCS emerge, they pave the way for a diversified, resilient energy future. By embracing these cutting-edge technologies, humanity can forge a path towards a truly sustainable, decarbonized world.

References

Lewis, A., Estefen, S., Huckerby, J., Musial, W., Pontes, M. T., & Torres-Martinez, J. (2021). 100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything. Textbook of Energy Systems Engineering, 373–420.

Smith, P., Davis, S. J., Creutzig, F., Fuss, S., Minx, J., Gabrielle, B., … & Kato, E. (2016). Biophysical and economic limits to negative CO2 emissions. Nature Climate Change, 6(1), 42–50.

Tester, J. W., Anderson, B. J., Batchelor, A. S., Blackwell, D. D., DiPippo, R., Drake, E. M., … & Veatch, R. W. (2020). The future of geothermal energy: impact of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st century. An assessment by an MIT-led interdisciplinary panel. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Read more at Envirotech Accelerator.

[dsiddhant]

Chicago, Feb. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Energy as a Service Market is expected to grow from USD 64.7 billion in 2022 to USD 105.6 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 10.3% according to...

[maybe-a-bit-emo]

[sabertoothwalrus]

so I’ve been gaining a lot of insight into the animation industry recently, especially in regards to pitching & the creation of new shows. There’s a few ways to go about it.

First, there’s pitching to a studio. When you pitch, it has to be SHORT and CONCISE. You may write a lovingly detailed pitch bible that perfectly breaks down episodes and characterizations, and it might barely even get read. First impressions, first impressions, first impressions!

Most peoples’ first projects don’t get picked up. I’ve heard a few stories from directors that said they tried pitching a story they’d had for years, which got rejected, to then spend a week or even several hours in their car coming up with a new idea, only for that to get greenlit.

But that’s not the end of it. Just because a show gets greenlit, doesn’t mean it will ever get finished. There’s lots of things that can happen. Sometimes, unexpected major world events (like… a global pandemic) can cause projects to get chopped. Sometimes, a CEO change or studio merge means a single person can decide a project “no longer fits with the company’s brand.” Sometimes, the one producer that was rooting for your project gets laid off, and no one else cares enough, so it gets shelved. Sometimes, a streaming service decides to create an animation department, and then they decide they don’t want it anymore. Sometimes, the studio will be simultaneously be developing another project that was too similar to yours and they just didn’t think to tell you until they decide yours is the one with less potential.

On top of that, almost everyone in the industry is saying that “studios just don’t pick up original content anymore.” Studios want something they can franchise, something that will bring in money. New content is risky. Established fanbases are safer.

However! Studios can still be a very good thing. They can be unionized. They can provide better benefits and resources. They can have connections and infrastructure and a larger volume of workers. At a studio, you can divide the labor and produce more in less time. Longer episodes, longer seasons, more consistency in quality.

But this comes with all of the disadvantages of having more in the kitchen.

The alternative is indie animation.

With indie animation, you have total freedom. Full artistic control. It doesn’t even matter if your idea sucks ass, because there’s no one to tell you you can’t make it. You could make it anyway, and you can make it whatever you wanted.

The thing is, making animation is hard. In my production class last semester, the average maximum animation one person could make in that timeframe was 30-60 seconds, and that’s not even counting background design, sound design, or cleanup/color. To make a 5 minute animated short, you should probably have at least 5 people.

And it is CRUCIAL you have a production manager. Ideally someone who’s not already doing art for the project. Most projects without a production manager will fall apart pretty quickly. Once the adrenaline and impulse-fueled motivation wears off, you need someone to hold you accountable and enforce deadlines and proper time management.

Speaking of time, that’s also hard to get. The more people you have, the more likely schedules won’t line up. Most people will have school, or other jobs.

And it costs MONEY!!!!!! You either have everyone work for free and volunteer their time & energy, or you establish a business as a proper indie studio, with people who may or may not have experience on how to handle paying someone else’s salary. And the money has to come from somewhere, so you have to rely on crowdfunding like patreon or kickstarter. (This, by the way, is why I could never fault an indie animation for releasing merch with their pilot.)

And like, maybe you wanna do a series, and all your friends agree to volunteer their labor and time to make the first episode, but it was unanimously not sustainable. Deciding not to produce a second episode until you can raise enough money is not being suddenly greedy, it’s attempting to compensate people rather than expecting them to be continuously taken advantage of.

You have to consider your output as well. There are some outliers like Worthikids, who afaik does all his animation himself, and afaik can work on it full-time thanks to his patreon subscribers. And he still has only produced a total of 30 minutes of animation (for Big Top Burger specifically) in the past 4 years. This is an IMPRESSIVE feat and this is with using a lot of 3D as part of his pipeline!!

Indie animation also has the complication of being more accessible for fandoms. When you’re posting your Official Canon Content on youtube, it doesn’t look a lot different than the fandom-created video essay in the sidebar next to it. What’s canon vs what’s fanon becomes less distinguishable. The boundaries are blurrier. When the creator is just some guy you follow on twitter, it’s easier to prod them for info regarding ships and theories and word-of-god confirmation. They don’t have a PR team or entire international tv networks to appeal to. And this is when creators get frustrated that their fans snowball and turn their creation into something they don’t recognize (and no longer enjoy) anymore.

So it’s tricky.

Thankfully, the threshold to learn animation is fairly low nowadays!! There are TONS of resources online to learn it on your own without forking over a couple hundred thousand to a private art college. There are conventions and discord servers and events where you can network, if you know where to look.

I know it can seem discouraging in the face of capitalism, but I think that’s all the more reason why it’s so important to BE DETERMINED about animation!! We’re already starting to see the beginning of an indie animation boom, and I think it’s a testament to humanity’s desire to tell stories and create art. Even if there’s no financial gain, we do whatever it takes to tell our stories anyway.

[the-oracleof-delphi]

PAC: How Would a Tarot Reader Describe YOU to THEM?

Pile One - Pressed Blue Flowers

:: Pile one, a tarot reader might tell your person that you are someone who has a lot of resilience, self-control and inner strength.

:: There are times you struggle with self-limiting thoughts. But you possess the strength to overcome them as well.

:: You do not let outside opinion get the better of you.

:: You are emotional and not ashamed of being seen as one. You are someone intuitive and in sync with your emotions.

:: You may like to have a good time with your friends. You may have two close friends you like to hang out with? Perhaps catch up over a few drinks?

:: You are not someone who tolerates nonsense, in spite of your emotional nature. You do not think twice before severing ties with people who are pulling you down.

:: You may be in your masculine energy right now. It seems you are trying to protect your heart. You may come across as cold and calculating at this time.

:: Energy - Air and Fire.

Pile Two - Blue Seashell Teapot

:: Pile two, a tarot reader would tell your person you are someone who is very regal, well-dressed - someone who likes to splurge, like to buy new shoes?

:: You are private. Someone others tip-toe around for some reason? You may also be in the position of authority, because I see people respect and look up to you. If not, you are someone who exudes an air of authority.

:: You are just and loyal, maybe someone obsessed with doing the right thing.

:: You stand on your business, you are extremely resolute. Once you make up your mind, there is no changing it.

:: You are hard-working. Currently very career focused. If you are a student, maybe your goal is to reach the top of your field - get a PhD perhaps?

:: You are a starter - you take the first step. You maybe starting or hoping to start on a new venture - business, school, etc.

:: You may be their partner - in love and/or business :)

:: Energy - Mostly Fire with a hint of Air and Earth.

Pile Three - Pressed Single Blue Flower

:: Pile three, a tarot reader would tell your person that you are resourceful and highly intuitive. You are abundant materially or working very hard towards it.

:: Whatever you touch turns to gold. You are destined to live a life of opulence.

:: You are financially responsible. I see someone putting down money for emergencies.

:: You are nurturing and may hope to have a family someday. But you may hide that side of your self?

:: I also see someone suffering from compassion fatigue. Someone who has distanced themselves from the people around them because they are tired.

:: You may suffer from self-limiting beliefs at times. I see depressive episodes and feelings of isolation. You maybe someone who self-isolates when they are upset.

:: Sometimes you may cater to others' emotional needs but forget to look after yourself. Alternatively, you may suffer from tunnel vision, pour everything into one aspect of your life and neglect the rest.

:: Energy - Earth, Air, and Water.

Credits: Icons - @/pngsforthepeople on tumblr divider- @/saradika-graphics on tumblr.

[beautiful-basque-country]

European Alternatives is a repository of resources, built by hand and with the help of the community. These are "European" internet services of all kinds as alternatives to the most popular American services that we all know and use. So instead of Gmail you could use Proton Mail (Switzerland), for maps and navigation Here (Netherlands) as an alternative to Google Maps, or Internxt (Spain) for storing files Dropbox style.

The idea, from the Austrian Constantin Graf, is that only services from European countries (which includes the EU, EEA, EFTA or DCFTA, close to the concept of Europe that many people have) that respect issues such as GDPR, VAT invoicing and in general other laws and regulations, appear. In addition to the list that he initially prepared, other suggestions are gradually being added to expand the catalog.

As for services, there is everything: analytics tools, Kubernetes, WordPress hosting, password managers, electronic signatures, DNS, domain registrars… Priority is given to those hosted on European servers and also those that use clean and renewable energy and are more sustainable.

[acti-veg]

Leather vs. Pleather: 8 Myths Debunked

Since we are all beyond tired of seeing the same regurgitated leather posts every day, I've compiled and briefly debunked some of the most common myths peddled about leather and pleather… So hopefully we can all move on to talk about literally anything else.

1) Leather is not sustainable.

Approximately 85% of all leather (almost all leather you'll find in stores) is tanned using chromium. During the chrome tanning process, 40% of unused chromium salts are discharged in the final effluents, which makes it's way into waterways and poses a serious threat to wildlife and humans. There are also significant GHG emissions from the sheer amount of energy required to produce and tan leather.

Before we even get the cow's hide, you first need to get them to slaughter weight, which is a hugely resource-intensive process. Livestock accounts for 80% of all agricultural land use, and grazing land for cattle likely represents the majority of that figure. To produce 1 pound of beef (and the subsequent hide), 6-8 pounds of feed are required. An estimated 86% of the grain used to feed cattle is unfit for human consumption, but 14% alone represents enough food to feed millions of people. On top of that, one-third of the global water footprint of animal production is related to cattle alone. The leather industry uses greenwashing to promote leather as an eco-friendly material. Leather is often marketed as an eco-friendly product, for example, fashion brands often use the Leather Working Group (LWG) certificate to present their leather as sustainable. However, this certification (rather conveniently) does not include farm-level impacts, which constitute the majority of the negative environmental harm caused by leather.

2) Leather is not just a byproduct.

Some cows are raised speciifically for leather, but this a minority and usually represents the most expensive forms of leather. This does not mean that leather is just a waste product of beef and dairy, or that it is a completely incidental byproduct; it is more accurate to call leather a tertiary product of the beef and dairy industries. Hides used to fetch up to 50% of the total value of the carcass, this has dropped significantly since COVID-19 to only about 5-10%, but this is recovering, and still represents a significant profit margin. Globally, leather accounts for up to 26% of major slaughterhouses’ earnings. Leather is inextricably linked to the production of beef and dairy, and buying leather helps make the breeding, exploitation and slaughter of cows and steers a profitable enterprise.

3) Leather is not as biodegradable as you think.

Natural animal hides are biodegradable, and this is often the misleading way leather that sellers word it. "Cow hide is fully biodegradable" is absolutely true, it just purposely leaves out the fact that the tanning process means that the hide means that leather takes between 25 and 40 years to break down. Even the much-touted (despite it being a tiny portion of the market) vegetable-tanned leather is not readily biodegradable. Since leather is not recyclable either, most ends up incinerated, or at landfill. The end-of-life cycle and how it relates to sustainability is often massively overstated by leather sellers, when in fact, it is in the production process that most of the damage is done.

4) Leather is not humane.

The idea that leather represents some sort of morally neutral alternative to the evils of plastic is frankly laughable, at least to anyone who has done even a little bit of research into this exploitative and incredibly harmful industry. Cows, when properly cared for, can live more than fifteen years. However, most cows are usually slaughtered somewhere around 2-3 years old, and the softest leather, most luxurious leather comes from the hide of cows who are less than a year old. Some cows are not even born before they become victim to the industry. Estimates vary, but according to an EFSA report, on average 3% of dairy cows and 1.5 % of beef cattle, are in their third-trimester of pregnancy when they are slaughtered.

Slaughter procedures vary slightly by country, but a captive bolt pistol shot to the head followed by having their throats slit, while still alive, is standard industry practice. This represents the “best” a slaughtered cow can hope for, but many reports and videos exist that suggest that cows still being alive and conscious while being skinned or dismembered on the production line is not uncommon, some of these reports come from slaughterhouse workers themselves.

5) Leather often involves human exploitation.

The chemicals used to tan leather, and the toxic water that is a byproduct of tanning, affect workers as well as the environment; illness and death due to toxic tanning chemicals is extremely common. Workers across the sector have significantly higher morbidity, largely due to respiratory diseases linked to the chemicals used in the tanning process. Exposure to chromium (for workers and local communities), pentachlorophenol and other toxic pollutants increase the risk of dermatitis, ulcer nasal septum perforation and lung cancer.

Open Democracies report for the Child Labour Action Research Programme shows that there is a startlingly high prevalence of the worst forms of child labour across the entire leather supply chain. Children as young as seven have been found in thousands of small businesses processing leather. This problem is endemic throughout multiple countries supplying the global leather market.

6) Pleather is not a ‘vegan thing’.

Plastic clothing is ubiquitous in fast fashion, and it certainly wasn’t invented for vegans. Plastic leather jackets have been around since before anyone even knew what the word vegan meant, marketing department have begun describing it as ‘vegan leather’ but it’s really no more a vegan thing than polyester is. Most people who wear pleather are not vegan, they just can’t afford to buy cow’s leather, which remains extremely expensive compared to comparable fabrics.

It is striking how anti-vegans consistently talk about how ‘not everyone can afford to eat plant-based’ and criticise vegans for advocating for veganism on that basis, yet none of them seem to mind criticisms directed at people for wearing a far cheaper alternative than leather. You can obviously both be vegan and reduce plastic (as we all should), but vegans wear plastic clothing for the same reason everyone else does: It is cheaper.

7) Plastic is not the only alternative.

When engaging in criticism of pleather, the favourite tactic seems to be drawing a false dilemma where we pretend the only options are plastic and leather. Of course, this is a transparent attempt to draw the debate on lines favourable to advocates of leather, by omitting the fact that you can quite easily just buy neither one.

Alternatives include denim, hemp, cork, fiber, mushroom fiber, cotton, linen, bamboo, recycled plastic, and pinatex, to name a few. Alternatives exist for everything from materials designed to ensure sub-zero temperatures and specialist motorcycle equipment. There are exceptions in professions like welding, where an alternative can be difficult to source, but nobody needs a jacket, shoes or a bag that looks like leather. For most of us, leather is a luxury item that doesn’t even need to be replaced at all.

8) Leather is not uniquely long-lasting.

The longevity of leather is really the only thing it has going for it, environmentally speaking. Replacing an item less often means fewer purchases, and will likely have a lower environmental impact than one you have to replace regularly. Leather is not unique in this respect, however, and the idea that it is, is mostly just effective marketing.

As your parents will tell you, a well-made denim jacket can last a lifetime. Hemp and bamboo can both last for decades, as can cork and pinatex. Even cotton and linen can last for many years when items are looked after well. While some materials are more hard wearing than others, how long an item will last is mostly the result of how well made the product is and how well it is maintained, not whether or not the item is leather.

[narrative-theory]

Trump's Problems: Losing Access to Canada's Resources