[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 1 points 5 days ago

The expandable part seems like extra complexity and fragile parts. It would be nice to progress to fixed solar roofs as the norm first, on real cars not just "concepts".

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 week ago

The best bit, about a third of the way through:

... and so we end up sounding like a nineties era sociology textbook and there's this trope of like toxic masculinity. And every time you hear the word masculinity among people on the left, it's usually. It usually comes with that toxic trope. Now, if there's not another option about a non-toxic masculinity, then at some point you're basically condemning a whole group of people. And if you don't offer them anything, why is it surprising that they're gonna go in a different direction?

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

If you think a 20% change is not noticeable, I would invite you to walk into a room that’s 100% nitrogen.

That's a 100% change, not a 20% change. A 20% change would reduce the oxygen by 20%, to around 16%. You're confusing percentages with percentage points.

26

Excerpt:

New research has shown that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) emit just 19 per cent less CO2 per kilometre on average than petrol and diesel cars in Europe, significantly undermining the claims of carmakers.

According to a new report published by Transport & Environment (T&E), a leading European clean transport and energy advocacy group, PHEVs were shown to emit roughly the same level of emissions as conventional hybrids and combustion vehicles.

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 weeks ago

Western manufacturers keep seeing electric cars and electric bikes as specialist, luxury items. They are ignoring the obvious, that electric vehicles are the future of transport for everyone and they need to have models that fit all price ranges, including budget models.

Ironic given the origins of Volkswagen, literally "people's car".

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 17 points 2 weeks ago

AFAIK (I'm not a botanist) it's true of many larger trees that they use more oxygen than they produce and emit more CO2 than they consume. It's the biosphere that the large trees support that does a lot of the carbon sinking - mosses, ferns, vines, etc.

As a rule of thumb, the greater the ratio of woody mass to leafy mass the more the ratio tilts away from being a carbon sink, as the whole lifeform has to undergo aerobic respiration but only the leaves participate in photosynthesis.

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 13 points 3 weeks ago

Just like with "chick'n" etc, this is just going to mean alternative spellings of borgors and sosages on packets and affect nothing else.

11
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net to c/science@slrpnk.net

A good, recent overview of methods for recycling various commodity plastics, especially alternatives to mechanical recycling (e.g. chemical depolymerization, gasification). The effects on worker health and the environment in general are also considered.

Full Abstract:

In this systematic review, advancements in plastic recycling technologies, including mechanical, thermolysis, chemical and biological methods, are examined. Comparisons among recycling technologies have identified current research trends, including a focus on pretreatment technologies for waste materials and the development of new organic chemistry or biological techniques that enable recycling with minimal energy consumption. Existing environmental and economic studies are also compared. The findings highlight differences in the environmental characteristics of various recycling methods, including their ability to recover plastic resins, carbon footprint, electricity consumption and gas emissions. The comparisons also reveal the challenges associated with these methods: mechanical recycling often encounters economic barriers due to contamination and inefficiencies in sorting and cleaning processes; thermolysis is constrained by high energy demands and operational costs, whereas chemical and biological recycling faces limitations related to scalability and material costs. Additionally, current challenges, emerging research areas and future directions in plastic recycling are discussed. For example, the role of innovative techniques, such as artificial intelligence, in refining recycling processes is emphasized. The importance of incorporating circular economy principles in the integrated sustainable analysis of recycling processes is also highlighted. The innovative contribution of this review is to address both technological developments and their environmental and economic implications. The focus is placed on literature from the past 10 years to ensure coverage of the most recent advancements. Overall, the insights of this review article aim to guide researchers, policymakers and industry stakeholders in improving sustainable management practices for plastic waste.

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 11 points 6 months ago

Jerusalem Artichokes are neither artichokes nor from Jerusalem.

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 months ago

Also the "extra" carbonate group is dislodged as carbon dioxide:

2 NaHCO~3~ (baking soda) → Na~2~CO~3~ (washing soda) + H~2~O + CO~2~

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Baking soda is NaHCO~3~ , Washing soda is Na~2~CO~3~

Baking soda is (incorrectly) called "Bicarb" because there is twice as much Carbonate (CO~3~) per Sodium (Na). Heating it causes some to be released as water and carbon dioxide:

2 NaHCO~3~ → Na~2~CO~3~ + H~2~O + CO~2~

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 months ago

‘A new phase’: why climate activists are turning to sabotage instead of protest (The Guardian, two weeks ago)

“If you want to do anything that is disruptive, the penalty is pretty massive now, and so these draconian laws mean it is hard to get very much pressure … by following the kind of things that [Extinction Rebellion] and JSO have done in the past, because people will be arrested and put away for a long time,” he said.

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 8 points 7 months ago

Most "egg substitutes" work well for a particular use case of eggs, and not for others. E.g.

  • Aquafaba (chick pea water) whips up like egg whites and can be used to make sponge cakes, merengues or similar fluffy sweets.
  • Chia or flaxseed/linseed are a good replacement binder for muffins and denser cakes (and good for fibre and protein too).
  • Tapioca starch and baking powder can also work to give a bit of leavening for muffins (McKensie vegan baking egg subtitute)
  • Ground cashews and/or avocado can be used for some richer desserts like mousses.
  • Kala Namak, a dark sulphurous salt which adds the smell and flavour of egg yolk, but doesn't add texture like the above stuff.
  • Tumeric is often used to add a bit of yellow colour to make vegan omelettes and scrambles look like eggs.

I haven't seen any subsitutes that are a straight drop in for all purposes of eggs, usually you have to use several depending on the recipe.

[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Air pollution: Coroner calls for law change after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah's death:

An inquest had found air pollution "made a material contribution" to her death.... Ella was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on their death certificate, following the inquest ruling ...

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budget_biochemist

joined 7 months ago