Where do we think the tradeoff exists when training an AI model to make predictions than can help with sustainability? For example, what if we wanted to predict ice melting over time, but to do so required a lot of energy for data processing and training? Does anyone know if there have been some studies looking at this tradeoff, particularly with regards to the benefits we can expect from "useful" machine learning? Thanks!

I’ve been looking for a store that sells bulk spices in the form of you bringing your own container, taring it, and then paying for just the weight of the spices, but I haven’t been able to find one near me. I’ve been looking off and on for years. I could use some advice for: • better keywords to use in my online searches

• common stores that have them in the Midwest or east coast or

• some known places specifically on the Northside of Indianapolis or central Massachusetts.

I don’t actually want bulk like you get at Costco, in fact I’m trying to reduce waste because I have small spice jars that don’t even fit a whole of the cheap ones from Walmart. I’d like to find a cost efficient way to do this with the least waste. Thanks for the advice!

Hey everyone! I’m looking to spend $100 - $150 AUD on a Christmas gift for my sister and brother in law. They are both really into sustainable living. They have a worm farm already, and they buy their food fresh from the local market and store everything in glass jars.

I was thinking about some beeswax food wraps but I read on here that they don’t last very long and don’t keep food very fresh.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a gift for an eco-conscious couple? (If it matters, they don’t have kids, so child-related gifts aren’t an option. They do have 2 cats though).

Thank you :)

Do you compost your food waste or use a service? I have started a vermicompost that is growing slowly and I'd like to know what other people do

I’m trying to reduce my plastic consumption as much as possible. I compost to reduce how much kitchen trash we produce for our family of 5. I don’t use trash liners in our bathrooms (though we may need to in one bathroom since I have a daughter who’s around the age where sanitary disposal is a thing). But I was thinking as I was researching that I should buy kitchen trash bags and dog poop bags made from post consumer recycled plastic. But I also know that recycling is kinda bs.

Is there some real research out there? Or are there better options that aren’t plastic?

Thanks!

I'm looking for a place to send some e waste. I'm a person who hangs on to phones and computers as long as I can, but unfortunately I've got a few things to send off somewhere. I'm looking for good suggestions on where to send things. I know quite a few places claim to be recycling, but it just gets shipped off to third world countries. I live in a smaller town that doesn't have any local recycling, so I do have to mail things in. I haven't done too much research yet so I thought I'd start here.

I am planning to calculate the carbon footprint and environmental impact for my daily lifestyle, purchases and travels as my new year resolution. I needed help with

What all metrics to track? One is equivalent CO2 footprint and seems easy to calculate given that there's lot of calculations already on internet. What is the sustainable limit for all these resources assuming all humans consume equally?

Next, are there any guides which show how to do it for a common man? because its not always trivial to do direct calculations, for example I never considered the fact that the perishable fruits that i buy are shipped via air and hence add much more footprint than locally sourced food?

Thirdly, are there any major items as a consumer that single-handedly dominate my impact on environment but i may overlook, for example, i use servers a lot for my job and i am pretty sure the energy consumption of those servers in a single day is more than what i consume in a month, similarly, i am asking this for my personal kitty of consumption.

Fourth, what are the positive things that i can do to offset the excess consumption above the sustainable limit? For example, if for some urgent reason, i make an extra flight trip, what can i do to compensate?

I read about this 10-15 years ago but haven’t hear much movement. Out of curiosity I was googling some things today and found this article about San Francisco from 2023. Does anyone know more about this? Is there any viable way to do some of this at home? I’d love to slash my residential water consumption if possible. I already do low flow toilets and shower heads. I turn off the shower when shampooing and soaping. I don’t flush #1 for the most part. Try to maximize dishwashing and laundry efficiency. But I always thought - I could be using the laundry and dishwasher water for something instead of letting it run down the drain and the same for shower water. I’ve even considered putting a bucket in the shower and then using that to ‘flush’ the toilet or just using it to dump in the landscaping outside.

https://www.wired.com/story/are-you-ready-for-extreme-water-recycling/

I’m sure this has been discussed and I’ll search old posts but I’m really trying to reduce the ‘little things’. We use reusable grocery bags and have for years. We try and avoid ziploc bags as much as possible (my entire family isn’t on board with this so I work to reduce the use of them where I can). What other things can I reduce that maybe I’m not thinking about? For instance - we buy Kirkland toilet paper but I’m going to switch to Who Gives A Crap which isn’t wrapped in any plastic (it’s also made from recycled paper so that’s a plus as well) and I may try their tissues and paper towels (though we use very few paper towels since we use cloths).

I get mail with those envelopes with the little plastic window to show your address. I’m thinking about contacting each company when I receive one and see how that can stop. What about kitchen trash bags? We compost as much as we can to reduce our trash output - but we have 3 kids so we still have trash. What else am I missing?

I talked to some of my friends a while ago and they commented on how they’ve been using Samsung global goals as a way for them to help out the environment. It surprised me, because I never really thought about technology and it’s ability to help donate to charities and all that contribute to the earth and goodwill of humanity. It got me curious, so I started researching on non-cliche ways of helping the environment. Using Ecosia, Change.org, Forest app… Then I got thinking: do people today still think about nature? and what do they actively do to help preserve it? I’d really like to satisfy my curiosity lol, so feel free to share the practical measures you take to conserve energy and protect the environment.

Hi folks,

Over a decade ago, I left my 4+ decades long metropolitan life in favour of a more sustainable & simple life in the forest, here in Canada.

During this time, everyone has been asking me to share my real off-grid homesteading and realistic experiences with them. But as I am not on social media, I was only limited to in-person sharing. This month however, I decided to start a youtube channel for all of you who are either considering such a change in lifestyle or simply curious to see what my life here is like, stories, lessons learned,...

There are no commercials or ads and as with my website, this channel is not monetized and totally family friendly for those considering watching it with their kids.

u/REAL-to-REEL-e6d

I'm also willing to set some land aside to provide space or setting for anyone with innovating projects & ideas on sustainability & self-sufficiency.