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steam_cannon
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Joined: Dec 28, 2006
Posts: 2466
Location: MA
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 Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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| skyemoor wrote: | | One other consideration is that the homeowner could decide to purchase renewable electricity from their provider, which would make it reasonably sustainable without needing to go through the above. |
Hah! Your Kung Fu is strong! (good question...)
Why not buy electricity from renewable sources?
* That's something a politician would say.
* Gardengirl mentioned powering the whole thing off
photovoltaics, so that was the line of thought I went into...
* Many hydroponics pump systems are run off grid solar...
* The US grid is on shaky ground these days and sustainability is very
much synonymous with reliability and security.
To put it in perspective, how secure is installing grid electric heat
instead of solar water heater panels? Will our disintegrating grid be
rebuilt at some point? Increase in capacity? Will we be able to keep
up with capacity as coal and natural gas prices rise? Will our
economic troubles affect growth and stability of the power grid? For
anyone who's read a few articles on these problems it's not all that
certain. And if a person wants uncertainty, why grow their own
vegetables? Because they don't know any better?
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But what if the grid could be relied on?
If it can and if we need food, this sort of system might be used to
convert coal into food where it's needed, I'm sure there will be
people doing it if it's possible. And if possible we will level mountains
to produce metal for wind towers. And if our economy is functioning
and there is still energy to use, I'm sure we will use it and for better
or worse, this is one way things could go.
That's a lot of "ifs" though, for example...
| Quote: | California Utilities to Control Thermostats?
"It seems that the California Energy Commission is looking to give
utilities in the state the power to control the thermostats in private
homes via a radio signal. The idea is that during times of significant
energy crunch..."
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/12/0252248
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With states considering things like controlling thermostats, how
much confidence can a person have that "plugged in" is a reliable option? |
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steam_cannon
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Joined: Dec 28, 2006
Posts: 2466
Location: MA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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| pstarr wrote: | | It was Quorn (tm) and sprouts that propelled the Betazoids off Betazed... |
I love Quorn (tm) fed girls!
And in the future I'm sure the best greens will come from space...
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| pstarr wrote: | No really. If you have a lot of solar panels on your
roof and batteries in the basement (or better yet a year-round
freeflowing stream and small-scale hydroelectric system) I think
these technologies would be a swell addition to the bugout cabin in
the winter time.
Otherwise I would go for a heavily insulated greenhouse and little
sprouted greens. |
Yeah, if you have the money and energy to spend, it's will make a
nice backup food source for as long as it runs. But it's hard to beat
simple reliability like a greenhouse... |
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pstarr
Expert
Joined: Sep 27, 2004
Posts: 7089
Location: Behind the Redwood Curtain
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:39 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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| steam_cannon wrote: | And in the future I'm sure the best greens will come from space...
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Now that is a hot tamale!
Was that Julie Newmare from the original Star Trek?
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steam_cannon
Expert
Joined: Dec 28, 2006
Posts: 2466
Location: MA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:23 am Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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Probably "Susan Oliver" and I think "Yvonne Craig" was the other green girl...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(Star_Trek)
But "Julie Newmar" did play a hottie in one of the episodes... 
Star Trek
And as Catwoman in Batman
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But anyway, Gardengirl is PO's irresistible green "thumb" girl! 
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skyemoor
Moderator
Joined: Oct 16, 2004
Posts: 1422
Location: Appalachian Foothills of Virginia
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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| steam_cannon wrote: | | skyemoor wrote: |
Why not buy electricity from renewable sources? |
* That's something a politician would say. |
Actually, I power my house off of a 2kW PV array, but...
| steam_cannon wrote: |
* Gardengirl mentioned powering the whole thing off
photovoltaics, so that was the line of thought I went into...
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You actually answered the question directly, whereas I only answered abstractly. And yes, the definition of sustainability morphs when considering failure of complex critical infrastructure.
| steam_cannon wrote: |
Hah! Your Kung Fu is strong! (good question...) |
I find Kung Fu very interesting, but the bulk of my training has been in Cuong Nu.
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He that lives upon hope will die fasting. --Benjamin Franklin |
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GardenGirl
Tar Sands
Joined: Oct 28, 2007
Posts: 43
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| Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:00 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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I am glad this thread sparked some discusssion. Am I a peak oil green alien from Star Trek? If so, it is an honor!
All this talk has me inspired to take my next check from Farmers Almanac TV and start making PV and Wind Turbine videos to actually power up this system. With oil at an all time high it looks like peak oil is here a bit sooner than I thought.
Well, thanks for watching. New videos this week!
Patti
www.gardengirltv.com
www.farmersalmanac.com
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smajor
Coal
Joined: Aug 18, 2008
Posts: 8
Location: Kingman, AZ
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:45 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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I'm concerned about the possible misperception developing that aquaponics is energy intensive. It's not. It can be set up in a rudimentary greenhouse with one pump that operates intermittently.
And you can feed tilapia grass or duckweed if you have to.
From there you can get as complicated as you desire.
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mommy22
Heavy Crude
Joined: Jul 22, 2005
Posts: 270
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:48 pm Post subject: Re: Check out my indoor Aquoponic Garden |
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I think it would be cool to have something like this set up in the elementary schools...especially in the urban schools in the North.
One question...will you be eating some of the fish as time goes on...it would seem to me to be an ideal set up to have protein and veggies in your home. |
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