The article mentioned designs that negate the need for chimneys but I wonder if that’s a place where mounting it (sort of) through a wall could work - the flue/exhaust in a chimney is generally extremely hot (likely too hot?) and any heat in the chimney is just waste about to escape through the top anyways. If you could mount one of these through an exterior part of a chimney you’d have below freezing winter air on one side and like 400 degree heat on the other. I suspect that’s the sort of thing you’d have to build in from the start as conventional chimneys probably don’t like the kind of uneven heat a hole through the side would produce.

Edit: haven’t gotten to read in depth yet but it looks like there’s a bunch of research papers on thermoelectric generator chimneys

Thanks! I think I tried that once when I needed a really lightweight OS for a old laptop that was being picky about what Linux OSs it would run

I’ll take that warning as a vote of confidence in my ability to configure systems for reliability! Honestly if we get to the point that systems are failing for hardware lifespan reasons we’ll have exceeded my expectations and I’ll issue some new ewaste. Fortunately the return policy at the free stuff swap shop is very generous.

Thanks, this is the second rec for cage so I’ll try it out on a spare laptop and see how it goes

Thanks! That seems pretty straightforward!

This is great

It’s funny, I spend tons of time out in the woods and on trails and I’ve never gotten it, no idea how often I’m exposed. I don’t do landscaping or roadside work but I still see it occasionally. I’ve always wondered if I’m chipping away at my immunity with each encounter or if it’s age based and I should be getting my money’s worth before it runs out

I’m told by formerly-immune relatives that repeated exposures to poison ivy can make you start reacting to it. I’m not sure how that works or if something changed in their bodies as they got older but a few of them were certain it happened (they were older state workers and landscapers so they’d had plenty of contact and know how to identify it).

Seconding this - I’ve done the month overlap thing twice, with cars and a moving truck and everything. Once because my current landlords expected me out on the last day and the new people wouldn’t let me move in until noon on the first even though the place was already empty for “renovations” (slapping another coat of white paint over everything, dirt and all). The other time because I had a line on a great place and didn’t want to miss it. It still made moving way easier and I was able to skip the moving truck that time.

Picturing that on some stockbroker’s desk

Probably similar to stealing them from a field, just with more risk of getting hit by a train

It’s not just parks though, there are tons of options that don’t cost buildable land - the article called out sidewalks and medians, I’d highlight how well a goal of more trees fits with pedestrianized streets, or even traffic calming tactics like removing lanes. On top of that many cities have places you can’t build which are great places for greenways - bike paths on former rail easements, riparian boundaries along rivers and other waterways, even linear parks over shallow subway tunnels.

Seconding this! I also keep an eye out on my local Buy Nothing group, and offer up wood scraps when I see someone looking for something I have. It helps keep folks from buying new and if I need it in the future, chances are someone else will have a replacement for me. (I also get a lot of lumber this way).

I’ve given away stair treads, particleboard sheets, plywood, and dimensional lumber, sometimes cut or milled to whatever dimensions they need. I even used my scraps and part of a table to build a saddle stand for someone who was looking for a suitable piece of furniture for displaying a saddle once!

To deconstruct a dwelling involves carefully dismantling an entire building to salvage as many materials as possible. These include removing specific high-value components, such as timber, windows, doors, flooring, fixtures, and structural elements for reuse or repurposing. Unlike traditional demolition, which prioritises speed, deconstruction focuses on salvaging valuable materials to reduce waste and lower the demand for new raw resources, thereby minimising environmental impact. Housing deconstruction and selective deconstruction approaches differ in scope, level of disassembly, and goals. Reclaimed timber, if structurally sound, can be repurposed for new construction projects.

I think this is my new favorite definition of deconstruction! This paper has a ton of good information and links to other studies, I’m going to have to rework my notes on deconstruction to include them.

Reading his complaint I was thinking, combustion engines will still be around, after all I see people driving steam powered antique autos almost every summer. But that doesn’t mean we should stay dependent on old, damaging tech for basic tasks

I try to maintain a balance. I try to accept that a lot of the problems in the world are beyond my reach, to keep informed and to help in the small ways I can, and to draw motivation from it, but without throwing myself into despair. It’s hard and I’ll admit I err on the side of ignorance these days.

Mostly I focus on solarpunk fiction projects (I think we need to be able to imagine better futures and that fiction gives us roadmaps and chances to explore these possibilities safely), project research, and ways to help at the level where I can effect things.

I help fix things for people so they don’t have to buy new, I help organize and give stuff away at my local swap shop and on the free groups online, I try to help with local land conservation. And I take the small victories where I can get them. If I fix something or find some ewaste electronics for a neighbor and save them spending $60 on Amazon, the world isn’t changed but Amazon didn’t get that money and maybe my neighbor won’t reach for it as their first choice next time. If we conserve a hundred acres of forest it’s not stopping any of the big impending climate disasters, but some habitat is preserved, and perhaps some of the routes animals follow as they roam won’t get as fragmented as they would otherwise. And I imagine better worlds and try to show them to others.

Yeah I started reading up on it more once I got thinking about it. Looks like AC was easier in the past, which is probably why we’re standardized on it for local grids

Am I missing something? Isn’t this why we use AC power over long distances?

Yeah cars will sometimes deliver personal injury right through the front wall of your house.

Maybe they could make a mode where the electric vehicle UFO noise they make so you can hear them coming gets louder when you accelerate