Climate Change (For Those That Respect Science)

[lovinthehd]

Oddly, perhaps the most efficient system for living I can think of would be...the prison. It makes sense actually; they cut every penny possible. A small room with basic amenities, but no kitchen. A central dining hall makes food production and waste disposal subject to economies of scale. Depending on what you do (i.e. remote work), you might not need to travel at all except for pleasure. All you need is a computer and an internet connection. You've got plenty of people nearby to socialize with, and see every day at meal time. You'll gain energy efficiency advantages from utilizing a single large structure vs numerous small ones. Just a thought.

Sounds like you're already eating prison food.

I'll pull out my copy of Dodgeball...when does the ain't no chicken comment come in?

I remember having a conversation with a roommate about 20 years ago when the middle class was growing in India as well as China and I was telling him the world really is going to get stretched trying to supply them with all the same crap we were used to accumulating (and I was definitely a little more into the consumption thing back then). While I have toned down my consumption a lot in retirement, I'm still spoiled I suppose....but I do try and use things to their full life, I won't replace things for aesthetic reasons like I used to....and I was never as bad as quite a few friends of mine.

Been very smoky around here (AQI for the last week often in the 200-300 range), we've got a fire to the northwest of us that's about 29000 acres last I looked, and another to the northeast that's much smaller (but a lot closer)....and had a brief third one to the southeast also fairly close. None seem to have had any natural start (from dry lightning), which is even sadder.

 

[Steve81]

I like Huel black. It’s a meal replacement shake powder.

I'll give it a shot when my supply of Atkins shakes runs out. Thanks for the tip! Nutrition looks adequate; a bit high in protein and would prefer a higher amount of fat, but it's got a decent amount of calories without a lot of net carbs. Is two scoops pretty filling?

Sounds like you're already eating prison food.

I'll pull out my copy of Dodgeball...when does the ain't no chicken comment come in?

The Dodgeball reference was the c8ck (poopy) flavored lollipop thing. Patches mentions one of the characters is about as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop somewhere in there, but not sure the exact timestamp or anything.

I'm good with what I eat. It's fuel, and it tastes OK. That's all I need.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'll give it a shot when my supply of Atkins shakes runs out. Thanks for the tip! Nutrition looks adequate; a bit high in protein and would prefer a higher amount of fat, but it's got a decent amount of calories without a lot of net carbs. Is two scoops pretty filling?



The Dodgeball reference was the c8ck (poopy) flavored lollipop thing. Patches mentions one of the characters is about as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop somewhere in there, but not sure the exact timestamp or anything.

I'm good with what I eat. It's fuel, and it tastes OK. That's all I need.

Ah, yes, that comment, I guess my version is unfiltered (already revisited it a bit). The character he was referring to was Justin (played by Justin Long)....

I can't even do a single Subway sandwich myself, but then I like cooking (and will even make my own bread). Now I'm hungry....

 

[j_garcia]

Mazda has kind of done this now with a small rotary engine as a generator in their new Electric SUV.
(the rotary is only there to charge the battery..I would bet you could get away with hardly ever plugging this vehicle in to charge if you were crafty)

This car was already discontinued (in the US), not because the tech isn't good, but simply because it did not sell. PHEVs have been around quite a while, Mazda was actually late to that game. They seem to be continuing to do PHEVs but it seems they're re-strategizing the market segment and type of car to build.

 

[isolar8001]

This car was already discontinued (in the US), not because the tech isn't good, but simply because it did not sell. PHEVs have been around quite a while, Mazda was actually late to that game. They seem to be continuing to do PHEVs but it seems they're re-strategizing the market segment and type of car to build.

Mazdas vehicle does not use the rotary to take over the drivetrain when the battery is low....the rotary is only a generator for the battery.
It's not a normal hybrid.

Mazda MX-30 R-EV Brings Back the Rotary, but Not Like You Imagined

The rotary has returned, but this time around, the 0.8-liter single-rotor gasoline engine serves as a generator to charge the battery.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[Steve81]

Mazdas vehicle does not use the rotary to take over the drivetrain when the battery is low....the rotary is only a generator for the battery.
It's not a normal hybrid.

Mazda MX-30 R-EV Brings Back the Rotary, but Not Like You Imagined

The rotary has returned, but this time around, the 0.8-liter single-rotor gasoline engine serves as a generator to charge the battery.

www.caranddriver.com

I believe the Chevy Volt is the same, i.e. a serial hybrid, with a gasoline engine as a generator.

 

[isolar8001]

I believe the Chevy Volt is the same, i.e. a serial hybrid, with a gasoline engine as a generator.

The Volt did have that...only the gas engine was much larger than Mazda's rotary. (1.4 liter vs .8 liter)

 

[Steve81]

The Volt did have that...only the gas engine was much larger than Mazda's rotary. (1.4 liter vs .8 liter)

It’s admittedly been a while since I’ve looked at rotary engines; don’t they generally have more power per L, along with various challenges that have to be carefully engineered around for reliability sake? AFAIK, Mazda is really the only major manufacturer (at least here in the US) that uses them, and even then it’s not used in the vast majority of their products.

 

[isolar8001]

I believe the Chevy Volt is the same, i.e. a serial hybrid, with a gasoline engine as a generator.

In hindsight, as small as the Volt was they could have left the electric part out and just made it a 1.4 liter gas car.

 

[isolar8001]

It’s admittedly been a while since I’ve looked at rotary engines; don’t they generally have more power per L, along with various challenges that have to be carefully engineered around for reliability sake? AFAIK, Mazda is really the only major manufacturer (at least here in the US) that uses them, and even then it’s not used in the vast majority of their products.

It's the first rotary since the RX8 for them (12 years)....Rotarys rev super high, a good thing for a generator.
When the first testers looked at the MX30, they wondered why there was so much space around the electric motor...now they know.
Rotarys did have their issues...using one just as a generator would negate those issues though.

I remember driving an RX3 Rotary around 1976...couldn't believe the power that little thing had !

The Forgotten Rotary Champ: Remembering The Mazda RX-3 At 50 | Carscoops

We look back at the history of the Mazda RX-3 as it celebrates its 50th anniversary

www.carscoops.com

 

[Steve81]

It's the first rotary since the RX8 for them (12 years)....Rotarys rev super high, a good thing for a generator.
When the first testers looked at the MX30, they wondered why there was so much space around the electric motor...now they know.
Rotarys did have their issues...using one just as a generator would negate those issues though.

I remember driving an RX3 Rotary around 1976...couldn't believe the power that little thing had !

The Forgotten Rotary Champ: Remembering The Mazda RX-3 At 50 | Carscoops

We look back at the history of the Mazda RX-3 as it celebrates its 50th anniversary

www.carscoops.com

Aren't there issues with oil consumption as well?

2004 Mazda RX-8 Long-Term Road Test

In short, we adored the RX-8 when entertaining roads were on the schedule and tolerated its annoyances the rest of the time.

www.caranddriver.com

Speaking of 5W-20, the Mazda went blotto on the stuff. All rotaries supply oil to the combustion chambers to lubricate the rotor seals. The RX-8's new Renesis rotary has a computer-controlled injection pump that is supposed to meter out about one quart every 10,000 miles. For some reason our RX-8 guzzled one quart an average of every 3600 miles, demanding a total of 11 extra quarts and drinking its sump dry enough to flash the ominous low-oil warning on no fewer than five occasions.

 

[isolar8001]

Aren't there issues with oil consumption as well?

2004 Mazda RX-8 Long-Term Road Test

In short, we adored the RX-8 when entertaining roads were on the schedule and tolerated its annoyances the rest of the time.

www.caranddriver.com

Like I said...just using one as a generator negates any issues the rotary has.(or had)
Mazda has also had 12 years since the RX8 to perfect the design even more.
The RX8 had many more issues than the RX7.
The biggest issue with the rotary were emissions...this is why the bad-ass RX7 had to go bye-bye.

(Toyota made a line of Camrys that used that much oil also...these things happen)

 

[Steve81]

In hindsight, as small as the Volt was they could have left the electric part out and just made it a 1.4 liter gas car.

In truth, they shouldn't have aimed for the range they did. The battery technology wasn't quite ready, and that made it rather heavy and unhandy. Cutting the battery capacity to say 20 miles, would still have resulted in an enormous reduction in gasoline usage, while retaining the benefits of using an engine as a generator, i.e., it can remain within its most efficient rev-range, vs going all over the place in a conventional car.

 

[lovinthehd]

Don't know it this is helpful/relevant but think there's some great rotary info here https://www.youtube.com/@RobDahm

 

[j_garcia]

Mazdas vehicle does not use the rotary to take over the drivetrain when the battery is low....the rotary is only a generator for the battery.
It's not a normal hybrid.

Mazda MX-30 R-EV Brings Back the Rotary, but Not Like You Imagined

The rotary has returned, but this time around, the 0.8-liter single-rotor gasoline engine serves as a generator to charge the battery.

www.caranddriver.com

I know that, that is the definition of PHEV, Plug in Hybrid EV. Toyota offers a number of models like this as well. Either way, the MX-30 is discontinued in the US by the end of this year. Yes, the Bolt is also a PHEV.

Mazda Will Discontinue MX-30 In The United States

Mazda North American Operations officially announced that will discontinue the all-electric MX-30 model for the US market, following the 2023 model year.

insideevs.com

 

[Steve81]

I know that, that is the definition of PHEV, Plug in Hybrid EV. Toyota offers a number of models like this as well.

Not necessarily. There are serial and parallel plug-in hybrids. Most are parallel AFAIK. The difference is that in serial operation, only the electric motor(s) can drive the wheels.

 

[j_garcia]

Not necessarily. There are serial and parallel plug-in hybrids. Most are parallel AFAIK. The difference is that in serial operation, only the electric motor(s) can drive the wheels.

Toyota offers both, they started with the HEV gas-hybrid, which cannot be plugged in. Sorry, it is actually BEV that the motor is not connected to the drivetrain. PHEV would typically be capable of both and these are what I believe all of Toyota's offerings are. The new Crown that I am starting to see around here already comes this way as well, which seems to be a platform that could eventually be a full EV (currently looks like it comes gas only or hybrid).

2024 Toyota Crown Features | Toyota.com

Explore the features of the 2024 Toyota Crown to find out about the technology, performance, and capacity of this stylish Toyota sedan.

www.toyota.com

The little lady's car is a Lexus HEV, which cannot be plugged in. Capable of running on battery for about 10-15 miles, but it usually kicks in earlier than that, as soon as you go over about 35mph. Essentially the same system as the original Prius. Being over 10yrs old, it still gets around 40mpg. Hybrids are still definitely viable.

Hyundai is working on Fuel Cell hybrids, though I think that is a long way off.

*It looks like HEVs will be regulated out. PHEVs will be required to have at least 50mi range before the gas motor kicks in.

 

[its phillip]

I'll give it a shot when my supply of Atkins shakes runs out. Thanks for the tip! Nutrition looks adequate; a bit high in protein and would prefer a higher amount of fat, but it's got a decent amount of calories without a lot of net carbs. Is two scoops pretty filling?

I think it’s reasonably filling. I do put in some overly full scoops. The non-black version has less protein and is also less expensive. I like it but prefer the higher protein content in black.

 

[Steve81]

I think it’s reasonably filling. I do put in some overly full scoops. The non-black version has less protein and is also less expensive. I like it but prefer the higher protein content in black.

From my research on the issue, excess protein gets converted to glucose; as a diabetic, that isn't a good thing.

 

[highfigh]

I've been thinking about this a lot recently, as well. It almost feels like we've reached that tipping point. We had a bone-dry spring, leading to unprecedented wild fires, followed by biblical amounts of rainfall over the summer, leading to flooding I've never seen here before. It's pouring outside now, as I type.

Then it was Quebec's turn to go up in flames, followed by the western provinces. The entire city of Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories (20,000 people) is being evacuated right now, due to an approaching fire.

And, the death and devastation in Maui is heartbreaking to see, as well. I can't imagine how traumatized the residents must be right now.

Maui is a different case- from all indications, the devastation didn't have to occur, but very little was done about the start of the fire (downed power lines) and emergency warnings didn't go out. Now, their power company is talking about

Does the earth have enough resources for all countries to have the similar levels of affluence as we have in Canada and the US? Not. A. Chance.

Sure, we all say - well, most of us anyway - that we'd like everyone on the planet to live as comfortably as us, but that would be impossible. For everyone on the planet to have a decent roof over their head, three square meals a day, sufficient clothing, a few mod cons, etc. - you know, the basics - it will mean facing the elephant in the room. It would mean that we have to make sacrifices. Real ones, such as: eating meat maybe 2-3 time a week, mass adoption of public transit, having no more than one vehicle, massive curtailment of international travel, no more McMansions.

Sorting our waste and recycling? That's barely picking around the edges of what's required and people b!tch about that. Carbo taxes? People here are losing the minds over them. So, I don't know what appetite we - as a society - will have for making genuine efforts to make this planet livable for the rest of humanity right now, never mind future generations.

Since you mentioned need, does everyone need as much as we in the US & Canada, etc have? With the amount of wasted food and other items, the answer is clearly "NO". Why don't we come up with ways to decrease waste and scale back our consumption? Let's educate people so they won't confuse 'need' and 'want'? One problem is marketing- it uses human nature against people and they have no resistance to becoming rampant consumers of things they don't need.

One example of waste is in stolen cars. The article in the link (November 2, 2022) shows that 745K vehicles were stolen by that time- if we assume that 40% were totaled and the rest needed no repairs, that's still an incredible amount of waste.

However, do we really need the world population to grow at the current rate?