PeakEngineer's blog

We're back in town, but dealing with some computer issues as well as time management given our new bundle of joy. I will post once we get settled and I can again find the time to devote to the site. Sorry for the period of inactivity!

We are still on travel throughout Iowa with limited internet access. Look for some posts within the next week, as I'm working on a couple of projects. There's plenty of inspiration for sustainability topics here in the rural midwest :) In the meantime, enjoy your summers...

Earlier in the season, several of my garden plants were wiped out by fusarium wilt including the six potatoes I planted in February. I had thought the plants had died too early to have produced any crop underground. Well, when I was cleaning out the bed last week I discovered 8-10 lbs. of ripe, unspoiled potatoes just hanging out waiting for me to harvest them! It was a pleasant surprise in an otherwise disappointing gardening season.

We're taking a family trip during my paternity break over the next few weeks. As we will be on the road a bit, posting might be light. I'll blog when I have access, but we'll be in some remote areas for a good chunk of the time. Talk to you all when we get back...

It appears we will soon have another (low-cost) choice in selecting sustainable building materials for insulating buildings, beyond strawbale and cellulose. Two RPI graduates recently developed a mushroom-based insulation panel with an R-value of 2.9/inch.

From the article:

I tend to stay away from specific financial predictions about the future, as I lack the expertise for accurate in-depth analysis (even assuming the data is out there). PeakOilDesign is a site more about preparing for crises than predicting them. But, as the saying goes, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where the economy is headed in the very near future.

I've mentioned before that there is a whole host of problems we face aside from Peak Oil and global warming, as dire as those issues are. There are dozens of other, more subtle (read: unreported) catastrophes that could yield equally devastating economic effects, depending on your personal situation. Most immediate among those is the ongoing housing collapse; while it is frequently a topic in the news, the media usually try to put a positive spin on it.

In truth, there is no room for positive spin:

An essential requirement for sustainable lifestyles is locally composting as much waste as possible. This can be as sophisticated as a complex methane digester or as simple as burying the scraps underground. Most solutions, as is often the case, fall somewhere in between. In this post I will describe how I made the below composter in just a couple of hours last weekend.

Given the callous nature demonstrated by most oil executives with regards to Peak Oil issues, it's only a matter of time before they move toward solutions like the one below. In a sense, the policy is already in effect when you consider how developed nations extract energy from the third world. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this story is that someone suspected it was fake.

After noting that current energy policies will likely lead to "huge global calamities" and disrupt oil supplies, Wolff told the audience "that in the worst case scenario, the oil industry could "keep fuel flowing" by transforming the billions of people who die into oil," said a Yes Men press release.

Yes Man Mike Bonnano, posing as an Exxon representative named Florian Osenberg, added that "With more fossil fuels comes a greater chance of disaster, but that means more feedstock for Vivoleum. Fuel will continue to flow for those of us left."

The impostors led growingly suspicious attendees in lighting Vivoleum candles made, they said, from a former Exxon janitor who died from cleaning a toxic spill. When shown a mock video of the janitor professing his desire to be turned in death into candles, a conference organizer pulled Bonanno and Bichlbaum from the stage.

It appears my wife is in labor today, and so activity here will likely be light for the rest of the week. I should be back before too long.

Our recent experiments with baking soda inspired some humor. Here are the top 8 reasons to use baking soda and vinegar for all your cleaning needs:

1) You get to see the looks on people’s faces when you tell them you brush your teeth with the same stuff you use to scrub your toilet.

2) If you get bored in the shower, you can scrub the tub with your shampoo.

3) Always have a science experiment on hand: instant volcano!

4) If interrupted when brushing your teeth, you can scare away door-to-door salespeople with that “foaming at the mouth” look.

5) Two words: edible shampoo. Never shower hungry again!

6) You can get even more strange looks by telling guests you used your deodorant to bake the cake they’re eating.

7) You can buy baking soda and vinegar by the boatload for around the price of a single bottle of “Eau de Snooty” shampoo.

8) It cuts out about 17 aisles at the supermarket.