Lenn Sisson

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Lenn Sisson wrote:Interesting. I didn't know it could be fed to pigs.

Haha, don't take that as gospel. I was posing a hypothetical. There isn't much a pig won't eat. But maybe there's a catch.

Edit: There is some research on this subject. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352186424000257

Douglas, thanks for this.

Douglas,

Interesting. I didn't know it could be fed to pigs. That creates an interesting opposition: Feed it to the pigs or use it for fuel, or (perhaps) do some of both. Certainly, being able to cook and heat your home is important, but so is food production. I hope others comment so that we can get an interesting set of responses and thoughts on this.

Hi All,

I was watching a YouTube video on how the Romans reduced the need for deforesting the Mediterranean by using the waste from olive oil production (called pomace) as a fuel source. The source video is here: https://permies.com/forums/posts/insertOnCategory/7. Doing some research, I found that the heat production from pomace is roughly the same for pomace as it is for blackthorn wood. That's about 18.9 MJ/Kg versus 20.5 MJ/Kg for pomace. Note that this is an average and can vary a good bit based on moisture and other factors. There has also been some research done by professional historians. This article (Olive Oil Pressing Waste as a Fuel
Source in Antiquity) appeared in the American Journal of Archaeology in 2015 (Vol. 119, No. 4). It can be found at Academia.edu here: https://www.academia.edu/87278042/Olive_Oil_Pressing_Waste_as_a_Fuel_Source_in_Antiquity.

I'm wondering if anyone here who lives in areas with olive trees and olive oil production uses pomace as fuel and, if so, how do you like it? What are the pros and cons? Can it be used in a rocket mass heater?

Does anyone know if a rocket steam engine is feasible?  Has anyone ever tried it?  I was thinking that if it is feasible, then it might offer an alternative way to power a small locomotive in a sustainable way, when paired with wood coppiced from something like blackthorn.  Does anyone know or have thoughts/opinions about this?

Thanks!

The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids recently held a panel discussion that talked about fracking, how to combat fracking, and how the entire premise of western civilization is built on an unsustainable model. The discussion featured noted pagan author John Michael Greer and I was very interested in his opinion that (overall) fracking is a speculative bubble that will collapse much like the housing bubble and tech bubble before it.

The discussion is featured on the organization's Druidcast podcast number 88, and is available here: http://www.druidcast.libsyn.com/.

The whole podcast was interesting to listen to. Personally, I think any podcast that starts with Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" must be interesting.

Interestingly, it also mentions the book, "The Limits of Growth," and how it is dead on target more than 40 years after its publication, while all the predictions of its critics have failed to come true.

I also think that it is important that permies start cross pollenating with other groups.

I'd like to know what others think of the information and if you think fracking is a bubble that is destined to fail.

Thanks for the kind words!

Hi All,

Apparently the business world is pulling out all the stops to squash a European study that claims there is a significant connection between a type of GMO corn engineered to be roundup tolerant and tumors in rats. One journal (Food and Chemical Toxicology) that had published the study retracted it. The authors have now published it in Environmental Sciences Europe. The question is whether the paper was retracted for legitimate reasons or because pressure was brought by the corporate world. The Web site "Retraction Watch" has an interesting piece about it here: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/06/24/retracted-seralini-gmo-rat-study-republished/, and the open source article itself is available here: http://www.enveurope.com/content/26/1/14.

Basically, Monsanto did a 90-day study in rats of their genetically modified corn that was tolerant to roundup and (apparently) very few rats died, so they and the FDA declared it safe. The European scientists then came along and did a very similar study in rats for two years and found that a good many rats died and a number of them got tumors. Also, there is apparently a lot of controversy in the industry about how the study was conducted and the fact that the scientists were also publishing a book with some of the results and stood to make some money if they sold a lot of books. Though, one has to wonder how much money they'd really make off of really scientific books. Those don't exactly sell like hot cakes.

Anyway, I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention so they would know what was going on and would have a chance to see the article and the Retraction Watch piece. Also, check out the reaction to the original retraction, also on Retraction Watch, here: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/01/16/journal-editor-defends-retraction-of-gmo-rats-study-while-authors-reveal-some-of-papers-history/, there was a lot of reaction, I might point out.

Sam Barber wrote:

Lenn Sisson wrote:I'm having a senior moment, so I need reminding, at the $75 level, I know we get the DVDs and the Pods, but does that include the streaming? I'm thinking not, but I wanted to make sure that's why I can't access it and not a glitch or something. Thanks!

Hi Lenn,
The 75 dollar level only gets the pods and the physical DVDS.
-Sam

That's what I thought. Thanks for the response.

I'm having a senior moment, so I need reminding, at the $75 level, I know we get the DVDs and the Pods, but does that include the streaming? I'm thinking not, but I wanted to make sure that's why I can't access it and not a glitch or something. Thanks!

The new trailer looks great! I'm most impressed.