Category Archives: eco

eco: energy storage is hard, gravity storage as a game

Posted on 2021-02-18 by skierpage

How much energy does it take to raise 1 tonne 100 meters into the air (the height of a 23 story building)
⟶ 1 tonne * gravity * 100 meters = 0.27240694 kWh… 1/4 of a kWh doesn’t look like the path to riches! Continue reading →

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eco: reviving an IKEA Jansjö light

Posted on 2021-01-21 by skierpage

The IKEA Jansjö was amazing 12 years ago, a cheap bright LED lamp when others cost $150. It was $40 (went down to $15 and now may be discontinued). But the switches on them were awful. Both of ours flicker … Continue reading →

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house heating without natural gas

Posted on 2020-06-06 by skierpage

Some California cities are moving to ban natural gas connections in new construction! Burning gas creates CO2 that causes global warming, so just avoid burning fossil fuel by eliminating the gas connection. (Methane recovered from manure and garbage dumps could … Continue reading →

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Nikola Motors and its hydrogen truck story

Posted on 2020-04-18 by skierpage

In the current pandemic crisis this is like kicking a man when he’s down, but I still read uncritical stories on Nikola Motor Corporation, a Tesla wannabe since Tesla was still called “Tesla Motor Corporation.” Nikola Motor has the attention … Continue reading →

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eco: hydrogen home fantasy

Posted on 2020-01-11 by skierpage

Right now you can put up solar panels, attach them to a battery, and live off-grid. The problem is in winter you need a lot of panels and a big battery for cloudy days, or you “cheat” and get heat … Continue reading →

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cars: Toyota fumbles the future

Posted on 2019-11-01 by skierpage

Old-line car companies mangle the English language and engage in doublespeak when they talk about how they are leaders in “electrification” and that soon all their cars will be “electrified.” All “electrified” means is their cars will have something more … Continue reading →

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eco: Congressman Mo Brooks can’t do math

Posted on 2019-07-14 by skierpage

This morning Google Now featured excitable stories “Bipartisan Panel of Scientists Confirms Humans are NOT Responsible for Past 20,000 Years of Global Warming.” Indeed the brave iconoclast Mo Brooks (Alabama 5th District) on July 11th got Dr. Twila A. Moon … Continue reading →

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eco: immediate action, disaster much later

Posted on 2019-05-23 by skierpage

We Have Five Years To Save Ourselves From Climate Change, Harvard Scientist Says This is true, as is “We have 12 years to avoid catastrophe” and every other prediction of doom, but it is really hard to explain. We definitely … Continue reading →

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eco: carbon offsets to avoid hell

Posted on 2017-12-07 by skierpage

Shamefully, I’ve been traveling a lot recently. This is terrible for the climate, keeping a jet aloft at 600 mph uses tons and tons of fuel that turn into even more tons of CO2. The answer is to not fly, … Continue reading →

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cars: fun with math and physics

Posted on 2015-04-04 by skierpage

People have a hard time distinguishing between energy and power, it really manifests itself when thinking about electric vehicles (EVs). Batteries store energy, and people grasp that they don’t store a lot of it. To travel about 75 miles the … Continue reading →

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