I don’t consider burning a renewable resource that benefits the forest when you remove it to be wasteful.
Not the same as driving a Suburban when you could accomplish the same thing with a Saturn, at any rate.
Wood and oil aren’t even in the same category. Thought you’d understand that one, Steve.
Sure, wood and oil aren’t in the same category, but they are both energy, and building materials, and a few other things.
That’s 3 or 4 yrs worth of heat to me, but you’ve made some decisions. The value of the wood is less than the investment you have in the furnace and the convenience of loading a boiler twice a day in a basement (as opposed to 4 or 5 times in the living room). Hell, you might be able to deduct it as a business expense. But if you could heat with 4 or 5 cord in a different unit you’re wasting energy. Cutting/hauling/splitting probably burn gas. And from a CO2 emissions standpoint, we’d be better off if that cut wood rotted in a hole.
We actually make a serious effort to ‘right size’ the vehicle to the task - several days a week carpooling in a VW Golf TDI. When we have to drive separately I usually drive my MGB (25-30mpg) and wife drives the TDI. We only use the Explorer to tow, haul more than 2 adults and a car seat, or drag a bunch of stuff around for vacations or something. So we don’t drive a suburban [ever, or even an explorer] when a vw will do.
But we mostly do that because of the bottom line. If gas were free, we probably wouldn’t do that.
If the wood were free, maybe I’d think of it differently, but I don;t have enough land to even come up with more than a cord or so a yr in perpeturity, meaning there’s a dollar value with every cord I burn. Whether it’s gas to scrounge (in the 1993 F150 [about 16mpg all the time]), time and gas to cut/split, or $100/cord to have it dumpd in my yard.
So we’re wasting different forms of energy, but we’re both wasting energy. Energy content of the ‘extra’ 10 cords - 128 million BTU; the ‘extra’ 150 gallons - 17.25 million BTU.
That was a somewhat labored way of saying it’s not that I’m not thinking about it, but it might also be possible that a used explorer is a better choice in my case, and a wood furnace a better choiuce in your case.
Steve
tru.dat
An endless supply of free wood has warped my perspective, but in my case I don’t consider it wasteful to burn a lot of wood. It’s inconvenient and labor-intensive, but not wasteful.
No gas for the splitter because I do it all by hand.
I like the idea of using the vehicle appropriate to the task at hand. Hopefully we’ll all be doing more of that in the future.
steve, you might consider a malibu maxx. 22/30 mpg with a 1000lb trailer rating.
thanks
bruce
Yea, we looked at that, but GM somehow managed to design a v6 with a lower tow rating than a subaru 4-cyl, and onlys slightly more luggage (seats up) space than my VW golf (about 2/3 as much as the subaru and passat).
At least they beat the imports on price…
and fuel economy (22/30 vs 23/28)
and hp (201@5600 vs 173@6000)
and torque (166@4400 vs 221@3200)
etc
etc
etc
Yea, but I need the cargo cubes and I’d like the towing ability. AWD is a definite pro as well.
I could take an extra second or two getting to 60 in the family wagon.
The towing thing is baffling (based ont he performance numbers you posted), unless there just aren’t any decent anchor points for the hitch.
Ironically, I find what I might be looking for is a modern equivalent of an ‘92 cutlass ciera mid-size wagon. v6 preferred. Anybody got one? 28 mpg hwy, 41 cu. ft. luggage, and optional 3rd row. 0-60 with an egg timer, but if all you’re doing is getting to 70 and hitting cruise for 4 or 5 hrs, who cares how fast you get up to 70?
Yesterday traveling I-95 I was experimenting at different travel speeds
At 65 the speed limit everbody passed me I pass no one in 10 miles
70 again I was constantly being passed I passed no one
75 going along decent but not making up any ground on anybody in front still being passed. I may have passed one other car but hard to tell as it only merged.
I quit at 80. I seemed to be keeping up with traffic even passed a few cars But it was like 5 to one passed me to me passing anyone else. back down to 70 the expirment is done just as I thought n not too much fuel effecient driving
On Block Island an island off the coast of RI 15 miles from the ferry location. The island is about 2or 3 miles wide and 13 miles long
Never seen so many cars in such a small place other than cities.. I mean one cottage has 7 cars parked in the front yard and lawn only 1/4 mile from the center??? All cars arive via ferry.. the streets are narrow barely 2 lanes whole island has 25mph speed limit
yet once you get out of the down town even the mopeds are speeding. Mopeds rentals are like 6 to one for every bicycles. As me and the wife peddle one notices the real anoying sound as the pass then that two cycle exhaust fumes The biggest trafic jam was in front of the only gas station purchasing gas at $4.29 Finally on the back roads I saw a cordwood pile. Boy one would really have to scrounge for wood here most is low bushes. The best time to enjoy these islands is after or before peak seasons
Docked are boats in the
$1/4 and up mill class. Looking around there there is no hint of an energy crisis or fuel effeciency is not on anyones radar and noticable a lot of hummers. I don’t think many participate here on hearth.com, in the green room. How can one educate so many self serving self centered people?
I’m a vegetarian also, BTW. I don’t think that necessarily makes me a good guy.
If memory serves, Adolph Hitler was also a vegetarian........but I dont understand the relevance here of commenting on our diets versus burning gas and wood, abeit with extreme inefficiency.
Glen beck just said “china’s coal consumption next year will go up by a trillon metric tons, thats the same as emmissions from 30 billion ford expeditions”
.....but I dont understand the relevance here of commenting on our diets versus burning gas and wood, abeit with extreme inefficiency.
My comment was trivia as far as the head of Ford Motor Company, who BTW also claims he is an environmentalist - but is having a tough time with entrenched forces there.
On the Al Gore end, the book and movie both claim one of the main things we can do to reduce greenhouse gases is being veggie. Basically, it means a lot more MPG out of any food and the fuel used to produce it.
So eating meat is inefficient, unless you are hunting or raising your own grass-fed couple of head.
Glen beck just said “china’s coal consumption next year will go up by a trillon metric tons, thats the same as emmissions from 30 billion ford expeditions”
The US accounts for 36% of worldwide Greenhouse Gases.
With about 6% of the worlds population.
When Kyoto was agreed, the US signed and committed to reducing its emissions by 6%. But since then it has pulled out of the agreement and its carbon dioxide emissions have increased to more than 15% above 1990 levels.
Chinese citizens each use about 10% the energy as their american counterparts.
With about 20% of the world population, they produce 16% of the Greenhouse gases.
China has signed the Kyoto Treaty and has the goal of getting 10% of energy from renewables by 2010 and more after that.
I think the comment was directed to enevitable fact that global warming is going to occur and is irreversable at this point in time, i dont think it was pointed at the chinese for being wastfull. We all know us americans are the biggest gluttons on the face of the earth.
some Al gore observations where was all this wisdom during his campaign? Remember he lost to an idiot but had simmilar grades in college as Bush. I can’t remember his distinguished military record? IT seems he takes a lot of credit for being enviormently correct after the fact? I always though NASA was responsible for the internet. What browser did he invent? I would agree Anderson was more instrumemtal than Gore.
I did not know if I ate only veggies I would have more energy. and be more energy effecient. I can tell you my wife has cut down on my red meat consumption and more fish. she keeps trying to get me to excersize more. The only excersize I get biking with her is in the neck to see if she can keep up And I have a crap bike I found someone was throwing it away. For some reason she discounts all the excersize I get doing my normal work. and naturally golf is no excersize. processing 12+ cords of wood a year doesn’t count.
Being stilll able to bench press my own weight multi reps doesn"t count.. She is always scheduling physical exams. Went and did a stress test on a treadmill 15 minutes later I asked the tech what was the point. I maxed out the machine.
I’m with BB I can enjoy a jucie burger or steak but not as often Smartness is learning to do thinge in moderation.
I hope members do not think less of me because I drink an occasional beer or two and have a hot dog
Glen beck just said “china’s coal consumption next year will go up by a trillon metric tons, thats the same as emmissions from 30 billion ford expeditions”
That’s not the real number. They only mine about 2 Billion tons. But it’s rising by 10% annually.
