eco friendly fibre glass

And some snippets from his published work:

"In response to previous price surges, the United States, the world's largest grain producer, was effectively able to steer the world away from potential catastrophe. From the mid-20th century until 1995, the United States had either grain surpluses or idle cropland that could be planted to rescue countries in trouble. When the Indian monsoon failed in 1965, for example, President Lyndon Johnson's administration shipped one-fifth of the U.S. wheat crop to India, successfully staving off famine. "

" In 2010, the United States harvested nearly 400 million tons of grain, of which 126 million tons went to ethanol fuel distilleries (up from 16 million tons in 2000). This massive capacity to convert grain into fuel means that the price of grain is now tied to the price of oil. So if oil goes to $150 per barrel or more, the price of grain will follow it upward as it becomes ever more profitable to convert grain into oil substitutes. And it's not just a U.S. phenomenon: Brazil, which distills ethanol from sugar cane, ranks second in production after the United States, while the European Union's goal of getting 10 percent of its transport energy from renewables, mostly biofuels, by 2020 is also diverting land from food crops."

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articl..._of_food?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full

 

May I say Catbuilder, it is good to 'talk' to someone who is concerned with the "Big Picture", as BigBowen seems to be as well.

I wrote this little novel as part of a 'self education' process, inspired by your link, and my curiosity. Thanks for the opportunity to do some research.

Yes, I know - you dont need to be sensitive about being US, Australia does waste as much food as the US ( per capita ).

However, it is NOT an outdated concept - "The survey in 2010, found that Australians are throwing out $1.1 billion worth of fresh fruit and vegetables every year. A similar amount is spent on restaurant and takeaway food that is ordered and then not eaten. A further $872.5 million worth of meat and fish is thrown away along with bread, pasta and rice valued at $570.7 million and another $512.3 million in dairy products.

As a nation we're throwing away more food than the amount we spend on digital equipment such as flat screen TVs."

http://foodwise.com.au/did-you-know/expert-opinions/food-waste-in-australia.aspx

Not any more. That interview said so. "A Long time ago - there was excess capacity - used to pay farmers to stop production through planting quotas. in 65"

But, I know that farmers often have to plow in crops when they are damaged, because it wont get bought by retailers.

This is not a particularly good explanation of the problem of food for fuel like say http://www.celsias.com/article/too-much-food-used-biofuels-and-consequences-not-e/

What it is really good at, is explaining the current problem of lack of water on arable lands through climate change. For example the huge heatwave in Russia, the failure of the the Indian Monsoon, that cut grain production drastically.

He also talks about reducing the industrial basis of the US and other developed countires to stop this climate change, and to stop overuse of resources.

We are talking about shortages versus demand. As he says - "Its too late to be a pessimist"


Without being rude, putting on my cynical black "Rabid Environmentalist" hat, and of course bearing in mind my own predeliction for boat building ....

".... as you drove to the retail store to buy the expensive disks, that will be spun by tonnes of coal or water on your Makita, .... did you really give a toss about the climate change you are creating by spending all that money on a huge luxury yacht, money that could have fed several Indian Villages for 10 years ?

Many boatbuilders justify their creations by saying that they are going to be their "home for years". If you look at the expense of building, upkeep costs etc, everyone knows a boat makes a very expensive and energy and resource inefficient 'home'"


As regards Epoxy from Peanuts - These are my conclusions

There is no shortage of Peanuts for food in the world, and you dont grow Peanuts on land that can grow grain.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/32012_how-to-grow-peanuts-and-peanut-facts
"They grow best in a warm and humid climate."

but there is a big looming oil shortage. Oil is used to transport food, If epoxy can be made from Peanuts, its going to be a big help, and not cause any problems with the shortages of wheat, rice and corn that the world relies on for food.

So, from what I can make out, if the Peanut Epoxy works, its a good thing. Its still quite expensive yet, but maybe that will change.

I guess thats all I have to say about that ... for now!

 

The world runs on poor starving people so we cant do without them.
If you want to divide up the worlds resorces evenly between the people one thing you wont have is a boat and many other items.
In Africa action and inaction by the west is mostly to blame for starving people.
Send medicine to stop them dying and create overpopulation, create safe havens and you create migration to places where there is no water or only water that is pumped by aid agencies.
Also createing the safe havens is doing the work of the despots by proxy, you have helped them get rid of the people they dont want.
Starvation is the tool used by african deposts to gain power.
How rich did that crook Kofi Annan make Saddam Hussain by creating the food for oil campaign.
The number one export earner for Ethiopia is and has always been FOOD!
There is more and better range of fresh food in a market in Dijbouti than there is in a Sainsbury supermarket in London
Aid agencies are a global business whose outcome is 80 to 90% giving money and aid to the african despots although thats not what they set out to do.
Aid/Charites keep more Roll Royces on the road in London than Banking
If you are living where there is no water and you cant grow anything to eat you shouldnt be there so die just like nature intended.

 

Hi Powerabout - I guess your comments go a bit further than the subject of whether we should use peanut based epoxy.

I can see merit in a lot of what you say, but from my point of view, I was just being a bit playfull with CatBuilder who is hesitant about using peanuts industrially, but insists on building a humungous plaything that contributes to the industrialisation that is creating resource shortfalls.

Your comments along the lines of "you shouldnt be there so die just like nature intended" has echoes of all kinds of 'existance logic' proposed by people from Ghengis Khan to proponents of Eugenics, though I know your main points arnt about that at all.

My personal philosophy is that as infintesimal dots of life in the huge, cruel cosmos, and (as far as we know) the only vestiges of intelligent life - we should work together as best we can, each doing what we can, to help as many people as we can. The skills in boatbuilding, disease fighting, etc etc are all part of the big evolutionary picture, that, who knows, that may one day lead to a more enjoyable life for all this worlds people, and maybe those on other worlds in the far future.

My favourite modern day philospher, Buckminster Fuller, was a big supporter of his theory of Precession. That is, progress in one direction, has untold effects in another. (which is what Catbuilder was saying about grain for fuel).

For example, did *********** pay for the the worlds greatest communication system - the internet ? World War II, a huge humanitarian disaster - but has enabled the industrial giants of the world to grow exponentially, enabling more people to live lives of comfort and productivity than ever could before.

My mind has failed over the sheer complexity of stuff in the last ten years, so all I can do is sit gibbering and drooling on the sidelines, and ponder the little snippets of interesting things that pass by - and build my little boats to keep me sane.

 

rwatson

Yes all true my generation ( i'm 50) has lived a great life thanks to WWII


Yes the capitalist world....
I'm not sure its sustainable.
I cant help thinking the Australian Aboriginees had it sussed as their system worked for 60,000 years.
I wonder if Japan is the end result of a capitalism as country that is full of people, aging and stagnating.
Is it doomed as it relies on foreign fuel and food that requires real world assets to get ( money/trade)
The third world much of which are becoming or are junkies on fuel are in big trouble when oil goes back up
Luckily we also have religion which does both keep the population down but several fo these also promote to breed like rabbits and continue to supply the poor starving we need to keep our standard of living.

How can there be growth and population increase forever?
So are peanuts an environmentally effective crop or do they require irrigation and cheap labour to harvest?

 

hahaha - all the big questions for a little thread

Agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver is reported as saying he asked God "What is the purpose of the Universe", and God said "Ah, thats too big a question", so he asked God, "What is the purpose of the Peanut" and God said "Thats a better question, lets get to work"

He discovered three hundred uses for peanuts, It was Carver who made peanuts a significant crop in the American South in the early 1900's. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpeanutbutter.htm

If you believe the growers, http://npb.hcisupport.net/wordpress/?p=1415
"Peanuts, along with other legumes, are naturally sustainable crops because they release nitrogen into the soil, refueling the soil for other crops."

All sounds good to me

Too bad for those allergic to peanuts !

 

I'm interested in the peanut epoxy, has anyone actually used the stuff? I can recall reading a thread some time ago where someone had tried and failed to acquire a sample. The idea and the specs sound fine but can they deliver?

 

I did some considerable research into the stuff, from an Australian Point of View.

I even got it classified by Australian Customs, in case I wanted to import it in decent quantities.

It works out to $US325 per 4 Gallons, or $US21.44 per litre . http://www.ecopoxysystems.com/products.html

They had no experience shipping to Australia, and since I never found a transport option, I stuck with the standard Epoxies which were cheaper.

By accident, I got emailed a marketing email, with all the recipients addresses exposed.

I did the only reasonable thing I could, and emailed everybody to see how they liked the product. Of those that responded, no-one was a boatbuilder, and no-one had any long term experience, but they were all pleased with the results.

they have tech data at
http://www.ecopoxysystems.com/Structural Composites Report-EcoPoxy Systems.pdf

for Resin casting, and a discussion at

http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/B...ad/id/194353/sbj/epoxy-ecopoxy-anyone-try-it/

I get the impression they are not ready for serious boat builders yet, but I have hopes.

 

Check this out. I googled henry ford soy bean plastic car body: http://www.thehenryford.org/research/soybeancar.aspx

 

I did want to answer this thing:

"".... as you drove to the retail store to buy the expensive disks, that will be spun by tonnes of coal or water on your Makita, .... did you really give a toss about the climate change you are creating by spending all that money on a huge luxury yacht, money that could have fed several Indian Villages for 10 years ?

Many boatbuilders justify their creations by saying that they are going to be their "home for years". If you look at the expense of building, upkeep costs etc, everyone knows a boat makes a very expensive and energy and resource inefficient 'home'""

YES... it tears at my heart every day. My wife and I considered not building a boat, but a human has to live in shelter somewhere, just like we have to eat. This boat is shelter the same as any house. Not much difference there.

Also, as humans we have to work to eat. My boat is not only my home, but it is also my job (and has been for nearly 10 years with the old one).

I don't commute. I won't own a car as soon as we launch. I don't have resource wasting housing and offices to support like most do. I run my boats from the sun alone, for the most part, except propulsion when the wind is down and we really need to get somewhere.

So yes, the environment was an enormous reason we chose to live and work aboard boats starting about 10 years ago.

No contest between even a car and a sailing boat for pollution, never mind that being on a boat you don't have a house or a car or use coal to power it, wastes fresh water, etc...

 

We have plenty of oil but nutcases like Obummer won't let us get at it.

 

Good on yer Catbuilder. It seems you are doing as many right things as you can. It was just a playful comment, and I dont think many people would seriously condemn you for your lifestyle choices and professional calling. Your boat may be the one that carries the future Kevin Costner to the fabled Dry Land of the impending 'Waterworld', who can say. After the seismic activity in New Zealand and Japan - there are a few people in the world who wished they had lived on boats (albeit out of the way of the Tsunamis).

On a more 'on topic' contribution, after following up your comments, I have satisfied my own concern that Peanut Epoxy was contributing to the world food crisis in any noticable way, so if it ever gets a rep as a good technical alternative I will consider it.

Meanwhile - I will just keep on screwing up the environment in my own inimitable style ...

 

Its not just Obama who is the nutcase ... there are hundreds of thousands of people who elected him, who have an aversion to Exon Valdez and Mexican Oil Rig events, and the million other ways that 'big oil' screws up the vast diminishing 'nice bits' of our planet.

The concept of "if we got rid of the worlds number one problem, too many people the cost of oil would drop and the best way to do that is use renewables so they all starve" would work better if we applied that to the top three industrialised nations.

Any volunteers ?

 

Not me. I believe a rising tide lifts all boats(ships of state) unless of course the bad captains have chopped holes in the bottoms to drain the water out.

 

Just be carefull the 'rising tide' isnt really the start of a Tsunami of World Chaos, caused by profligate squandering of our natural resources.

In that link that Catbuilder referred to, it discusses what would happen to the 'First World' countries if the 'Third World' suddenly decided that the First Worl Dollar or Euro' wasnt worth the damage and degradation to their natural resources.