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Strategist
2015 Mar 20, 10:32am
Where is that Bullshit category when you need it???
We have that category....it's called "politics"
Shaman
2015 Mar 20, 10:41am
Okay this is ridiculous, but on a related note, I recently purchased an electric lawnmower. My lawn isn't large, like 500sqf, so it's no hassle to tow an extension cord behind the thing. The motor is powerful enough to cut the long overgrown grass (tried it), and I don't have to deal with gasoline or oil. Plus the whole thing is like 22 pounds so I can hang it on the garage wall. I didn't buy it "to be green," but I am enjoying it. It's not super quiet, but it's less noise than a gas powered machine.
zzyzzx
2015 Mar 20, 10:45am
Okay this is ridiculous, but on a related note, I recently purchased an electric lawnmower. My lawn isn't large, like 500sqf, so it's no hassle to tow an extension cord behind the thing. The motor is powerful enough to cut the long overgrown grass (tried it), and I don't have to deal with gasoline or oil. Plus the whole thing is like 22 pounds so I can hang it on the garage wall. I didn't buy it "to be green," but I am enjoying it. It's not super quiet, but it's less noise than a gas powered machine.
A push reel mower would be lighter and won't have a cord. They work just fine you just have to not let the lawn get long and pick up any sticks before you mow. If you have lots of trees I wouldn't recommend one (too many sticks).
Shaman
2015 Mar 20, 10:51am
I seriously considered a push reel mower but decided against it in the end. New ones were about the same price as the electric one, and would be harder to use and leave larger areas of untrimmed grass at the edges of the lawn.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/backyard-burger-and-wiener-roasts-targeted-by-epa/article/2561474
The Environmental Protection Agency has its eyes on pollution from backyard barbecues.
The agency announced that it is funding a University of California project to limit emissions resulting in grease drippings with a special tray to catch them and a "catalytic" filtration system.
The $15,000 project has the "potential for global application," said the school.
The school said that the technology they will study with the EPA grant is intended to reduce air pollution and cut the health hazards to BBQ "pit masters" from propane-fueled cookers.
Charged with keeping America's air, water and soil clean, the EPA has been increasingly looking at homeowners, especially their use of pollution emitting tools like lawn mowers.
The school is proposing two fixes to reduce emissions from barbecues. First, they want to cut back on grease flare-ups. The idea: "A slotted and corrugated tray is inserted immediately prior to meat flipping, and removed immediately after. This short contact time prevents the tray from over-heating and volatilizing the collected grease. This collected grease will then drip off into a collection tray and can be used at the pit master's discretion."
But, total capture isn't "practical," so a filter and fan are proposed for installation. "The secondary air filtration system is composed of a single pipe duct system which contains a specialized metal filter, a metal fan blade, a drive shaft, and an accompanying power system with either a motorized or manual method. This system can be powered by either an exterior electric motor with a chain-driven drive shaft, directly spinning the fan blade, or a hand-powered crank," said the project write-up.
The grant is part of the EPA's "National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2014)."
The EPA also said that it does not regulate backyard barbecues. Research conducted by the University of California Riverside is part of the People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program, which is a student design competition for sustainability.
The expected results, according to the proposal:
We expect to limit the overall air pollution PM [particulate matter] emissions from barbecuing and to alleviate some of the acute health hazards that a barbecue pit master can experience from inhalation. The particulate matter present during cooking with and without the grease diverter and PM2.5 filters will be tested and compared to that of current data using a conventional propane barbecue using a fumehood chamber with detectors at CE-CERT. Personal exposure of PM2.5 will also be monitored throughout the experimentation period to determine the degree of acute exposure of particulates to the cook.
#environment