Well it seems like ages since my last update so I figure I better write something. I find it rather ironic that the ‘winter’ I’ve chosen to test out my winter composting skills is turning out to be not much of a winter at all (I wonder how many times I can say winter in a single post?).
In all fairness, we’ve actually been seeing some winter-like weather for the last couple days (there is in fact a little snow on the ground), BUT if you were to compare the weather this month to a typical January in Ontario you’d quickly see how warm it really is.
At any rate, the show must go on…
Not too surprisingly, the bin has continued to chug along without too much assistance from me. I’ve now used up the last of my fall leaves, and the Christmas season certainly provided me with a bountiful supply of food scraps.
Temperatures in the composting mass have been hovering in the 10-20C (50-68F) range for the most part, although the core zone seems to be consistently 20C and up. These are ideal conditions for worm composting and I have little doubt that my worm herd has been multiplying like crazy. It seems my springtail population has also exploded (even more so than my last report) - there must be many millions of these tiny white critters in there.
I actually decided to bring some worms (and associated compost and critters) inside and have added them to a couple small bins I’ve been ‘aging’ (ie. I added compostable materials and left them to sit). I’m certainly not worried about losing my outdoor population this year, but I figured it would be fun to do some indoor vermicomposting as well.
Anywho…that’s all for now. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the real winter is still on it’s way!
Previous posts in this series:
Composter’s Log: Stardate 60429.3 - Unusual Life Forms
Composter’s Log: Stardate 60393.6 - Winter Has Arrived
Composter’s Log: Stardate 60376.9 - RED ALERT!!
Composter’s Log - Stardate 60352.8
Winter Composting Extravaganza
Technorati Tags: composting, compost, compost bin, worm composting, vermicomposting, worm bin, compost bin, winter composting, red worms, kitchen scraps
Note: The Winter Composting Extravaganza has moved to a new home. To catch all the latest winter composting action be sure to check out the Compost Guy
Winter Composting Page.
Written by Bentley on January 10th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Waste Management.
Michael Dell recently urged fellow members of the PC industry to follow his lead and start adopting greener practices, such as free computer recycling services and carbon-offsetting.
Dell has offered free recycling of all it’s equipment since 2004, although prior to June 2006 a purchase of new equipment was required.
The company announced yesterday that they are now offering to plant a tree for each system sold (for an additional nominal fee).
“We’re the first global technology company to offset emissions with the purchase of their computers,” Dell said.
The trees will be placed in areas where they won’t be felled, such as state parks and wildlife areas, said Larry Selzer, president of The Conservation Fund, which is one of two environmental groups involved in the planting effort.
“This groundbreaking program encourages participation by inviting customers … to address climate change,” he said.
Hmmm…I wonder if the Dell people in charge of Eco-goodness have heard about the recent research indicating that trees planted in the northern hemisphere do not in fact help offset CO2 emissions (actually contribute to them if I remember correctly)?
Oh well - definitely not trying to be a Negative Nelly! There are plenty of other benefits associated with planting more trees!
Hopefully we’ll hear about many more green initiatives (although some with a little more ‘oomph’ would be nice) from industry giants in 2007.
[Update] Whoops - forgot to include the link to the original article! Here ya go: Dell challenges PC makers to become ‘green’
Technorati Tags: computers, dell, recycling, carbon off-setting, global warming, co2 emissions, tree planting
Written by Bentley on January 10th, 2007 with no comments.
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I came across a short, but interesting article at PhysOrg.com yesterday describing a new experimental facility created through a joint venture between Xcel Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The facility will use wind-generated electricity to produce hydrogen.
This sounds like an interesting twist on the usual (energy-intensive, CO2-emitting) methods for hydrogen production. I’ll be curious to see how it stacks up in terms of efficiency. Obviously there isn’t much point in using wind power if it’s going to require a 100 turbines just to produce a tankfull of hydrogen per day. I wonder how it would compare (in terms of energy storage) to using batteries? Hydrogen and electricity are obviously two different beasts, but at the end of the day it comes down to how much useful energy we have for use, whether it be for running our cars, heating our homes or powering street lamps.
Here is an exerpt:
Currently, there are limitations to both wind power and hydrogen. Wind farms only generate electricity when the wind is blowing, which is about one-third of the time in the United States. This creates the need for backup generation, which is usually fossil-fueled. Hydrogen, while the most common element in the universe, isn’t found in its pure form on Earth and must be either electrolyzed from water, or stripped out of natural gas, which are energy-intensive processes that result in greenhouse gas emissions.
“By marrying wind turbines to hydrogen production, we create a synergy that systematically reduces the drawbacks of each,” Kelly said. “Intermittent wind power is converted to a stored fuel that can be used anytime, while at the same time offering a totally climate-friendly way to retrieve hydrogen, to power our homes and possibly cars in the future.”
NREL and Xcel Energy expect to offer a public update on the operation of the project around the middle of 2007. Results will also be shared with the Hydrogen Utility Group, made up of Xcel Energy and nine other utility companies interested in hydrogen’s future role in the utility industry.
I’ll definitely be interested to see how this study pans out!
Technorati Tags: wind power, wind turbine, energy, hydrogen, green power, green energy, electricity, alternative energy, Xcel Energy, department of energy, renewable energy
Written by Bentley on January 10th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Green Energy.
