Energy

I was reading the latest silliness about the gas stove ban that isn’t

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I was reading the latest silliness about the gas stove ban that isn’t

There are very legitimate concerns about gas stoves with their open flames burning in enclosed locations. While natural gas and propane burn quite clean, they are fossil fuels and they still produce nitrogen dioxide which can trigger asthma attacks and cause health impacts. Also, with the more and more natural gas coming from fracking, often in radioactive formations, there is a risk of bringing radon into one’s home.

Years ago, with drafty old homes this was not such a problem. But more houses are often much tighter, so you have greater risk of having both radon and nitrogen oxides in your house. While heat exchangers do help bring in outside air, depending on the system, there may not be very good airflow in and out of every kitchen. Plus more and more people use air conditioning, which doesn’t allow as much airflow as open screen windows do.

Plus, now is the time to decarbonize our economy. A single gas stove doesn’t produce much carbon dioxide, but if there are millions of homes that heat with gas, a little bit adds up. And more significantly — at least in colder locations, gas stoves are a natural combination with gas-fired heating. Natural gas heating is a significant source of both gas consumption and carbon emissions — which is why carbon emissions spike in northern United States every winter. Plus, not only does natural gas produce carbon, but natural gas lines are inherently leaky, and natural gas is a powerful warming agent.

Inductance cooking has many of the same benefits of gas stoves but is much less polluting. It can be used in most locations that gas cooking has been used in the past, and has a fraction of the carbon output. Any place that has 230 volt electricity, can easily accommodate such stoves. And for off-grid and remote locations, the amount of propane gas used in conventional gas stoves is pretty de minis compared to all the propane currently used to heat and cook food in millions of urban and suburban households and businesses.

U.S. Carbon Emissions Grew in 2022, Even As Renewables Surpassed Coal – The New York Times

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U.S. Carbon Emissions Grew in 2022, Even As Renewables Surpassed Coal – The New York Times

Emissions ticked up 1.3 percent even as renewable energy surpassed coal power nationwide for the first time in over six decades, with wind, solar and hydropower generating 22 percent of the country’s electricity compared with 20 percent from coal. Growth in natural gas power generation also compensated for coal’s decline.

I was reading about how much many homeowners spend on utilities …

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I was reading about how much many homeowners spend on utilities … ⚡🔌💰

Apparently $200 or $300 a month isn’t that much money to spend on heat and electricity, even in lower cost states compared to New York. Some hobby farms with shops and farm equipment spend $500 or even more a month on electricity and natural gas. That sure seems like a lot of money to be burning up each month in non-renewable resources that are both impoverishing you and the planet.

It’s probably not that much money in the grand scheme of things – I would have more spare cash if wasn’t saving or investing so much right now – but I sure know I don’t have that kind of pocket change hanging around these days. I groan when my electric and gas bill pushes $100 come the frigid cold winter, when I have to turn up the heat to keep warm and the pipes from freezing.

When I own land, I can’t imagine having a big fancy home that requires so much energy to support it. A single room, small cabin takes a lot less energy to heat and light. Wood can be used as a primary heat source, small-scale solar can provide lighting and small-scale charging. While I doubt there is any practical way to avoid purchasing and consuming bulk propane for cooking and making hot water, those instant-on hot water heaters can be quite thrifty for bathing and wasting dishes.

Abandoned Coal Facts

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There are 215,430 acres or 337 square miles of abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania.

92,231 acres are dry strip mine, 6,710 acres are strip mine filled with water. 86,317 acres are coal mining refuse, 722 acres of it is currently burning. Underground coal  fires burn on an additional 2,609 acres.

Data Source: Abandoned Mine Land Inventory Polygons, 2019 – Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. http://www.pasda.psu.edu/uci/DataSummary.aspx?dataset=459

Coal Strip Mine Along Corridor H

Fossil Fuel Industry Plans To Hijack Offshore Wind In Gulf Of Mexico – CleanTechnica

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Fossil Fuel Industry Plans To Hijack Offshore Wind In Gulf Of Mexico – CleanTechnica

The Gulf of Mexico has a a large number of offshore oil and gas wells connected to the mainland by a welter of pipelines. The Biden administration, through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, plans to issue leases in two areas of the Gulf of Mexico for offshore wind development next summer. One is about 91 miles off Lake Charles, Louisiana and the second is 29 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Lake Charles is home to many oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and fertilizer factories, which have made it one of the most polluted cities in the US and a major contributor to carbon emissions.

Fossil Fuels & Offshore Wind The fossil fuel industry has heard about offshore wind. In fact, many of the techniques used to drill for oil and gas at sea can be also be used to build offshore wind installations. It has also heard that there are plans afoot around the world to co-locate electrolyzers on those offshore wind platforms to make hydrogen from the electricity they produce. And hey, you know what? That hydrogen can be piped ashore using the existing pipeline network, where it can be used in many of the industrial processes that already exist along the shore of the Gulf to help reduce harmful emissions