Sustainable Living Stack Exchange
Sustainable Living Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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3 answers

Are electric cars as environmentally friendly as we think they are?

Given the fact that the average lifetime for a car battery is 3 years and all of the batteries end up at a landfill at the end of their lifetime, how sustainable are electric cars in providing a cleaner environment in the future? Common sense says…
ZZZ
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What’s the best strategy for turning off CFLs that will save energy but not reduce lifespan so much

With ordinary bulbs, I was used to turning the lights off even when I left the room for a few minutes (mostly because I know that I'll find other business and forget to return :-) ), but I've heard that for compact fluorescent lamps it's better to…
Pavel
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Impact of various travelling options

Are there any objective resources to estimate the ecological impact of various travel alternatives? Sites like Bahn.de offer to calculate it, but they obviously favour trains. I've asked a question on ferries on Travel SE, but didn't get a complete…
gerrit
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Lowest impact transatlantic crossing

What is the lowest-impact regular¹ method to cross the Atlantic Ocean? Specifically, which method has the lowest carbon dioxide equivalent emission per passenger-kilometre? I'm aware there are other impacts to consider, but for this question I'm…
gerrit
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How do I find an eco-friendly laptop?

I am looking to replace my laptop. Being in a conscious path of my own, I want to choose a laptop which is a product of good and sustainable procedures. I am saying good because most popular brands like Lenovo have factories in China where the labor…
user1297
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Which solar power technology has the highest energy return on investment (EROI aka EROEI)?

Which solar-electric technology had the highest EROEI? Energy Returned On (Energy) Invested, also known as EROI and as EROEI, has become something of a fashionable metric *but see footnote. It is calculated by dividing the total energy delivered by…
410 gone
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What to do with old, unused incandescent light bulbs

Over the years, my family has built up a small stockpile of incandescent light bulbs. More recently, we have been replacing our incandescent lights with more energy-efficient alternatives. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of unused incandescent…
Lily Finley
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Estimating the cost of solar panels and return time?

I'm interested in installing a solar array on my property, and am trying to find tools that can help me do a cost analysis so I can optimize my budget and see how long it will take to balance the upfront cost. Are there any tools available to help…
pizza247
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Should I use my wood fireplace?

I live in a relatively modern (built 1983) home, which has a fireplace in the living room. How should I decide if I should use the fireplace for heat, or strictly use use the natural-gas central heating system? I have an open fireplace, situated…
Flimzy
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What are the major concerns about planting trees to create carbon offsets?

I've seen many organizations trying to sell carbon offsets based on planting trees, and recently some parties (1, 2) that were vying for control of the Canadian government promised that they would plant billions of trees as part of a national…
Nic
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Is Linux more sustainable than Windows?

One of the many advantages of GNU/Linux systems, and probably *NIX in general, is that they can run on older and lesser hardware than the children of Microsoft can, i.e. has lower "system requirements". A similar sentiment about Linux is expressed…
Ivan Kapitonov
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Which type of portable electric heater is better?

When one is buying a portable electric heater, there are at least three different types available: Radiative halogen heaters Fan heaters Oil-filled radiators and similar Images of examples of each are shown at the bottom of the question, in…
Flyto
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Is it sustainable or necessary to use potable water to wash waste before recycling?

I live in a major metropolitan area in the United States, and we have a municipal recycling pick-up program. They advise us to wash food containers prior to putting them in our bins, and if an item takes "too much water" to wash, that it's better…
Caleb Bell
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Why am I offered a 5 kW inverter with a 6.6 kW solar installation?

I've just received two quotes for installing a rooftop solar system at my residential address (near Sydney, Australia). This caught my eye: Company 1: Panel: 22 x ET panels 300w Inverter: Growatt 5 kW (5000 MTL-S) Size: 3 - 6.6 kW Company…
Robotnik
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Does a dishwasher save water in the long term?

I've been considering a dishwasher, but there are a range of different opinions on if they save water (or even energy) or not. Do we have any sources one way or the other?
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