I will visit the BRI bamboo biochar operation in western Puerto Rico in early September, and report on my visit! Bamboo and biochar are made for eachother!
A friend of mine at openaircollective.cc made this map that lists various sites. I think it is too early in the technological development of these various approaches to make meaningful comparisons of effectiveness. The area of "MRV" - Measuring, Reporting and Verification - is in its infancy; the methods for measuring effectiveness are still being developed. For some processes it is pretty simple, and for others very complex.
In my experience with limited diets, it is always advisable to take in as much variety as possible. So even if I only had milk and potatoes, for example, I would scavenge for some edible greens to add. Nutrition is not just about amino acids - there is a whole range of vitamins, minerals, and other less well known substances in foods that keep us healthy. I think if a person is down to having only one of your listed parings available to eat, they have a lot of problems to solve!
I lived a number of years in the rural Dominican Republic, and befriended some very poor Haitians who migrated there illegally. They subsisted on rice and beans to a great extent, but substituted a variety of other starch vegetables (green banana, various root vegetables, bread) when they could - and also learned through community collaboration, which wildly growing green plants were palatable. They would also sometimes buy the local "sausage" which contained about 10% meat byproducts, and the rest was mostly rice with probably some corn and other grains and spices). My point is that nobody reading this is ever likely to be as destitute as an illegal Haitian living off the land, but they still ate a somewhat varied diet.
Governments have always hired "contractors" for various services. So having some interactions with private business in the course of government dealings is not new. But there has been more privatization of services in the past century and I think particularly in the last few decades. In some respects, privatization can be a more economical way for a government to deliver a service - despite that the private company extracts a profit. But there are also many examples of privatization leading to excess costs. I think personally that privatization causes some of the same symptoms in the private firm as having monopoly power.
But the power of the government to coerce your cooperation undoubtedly extends to their hired minions.
maybe you are a little short on RAM? OS and apps keep growing, but installed RAM does not grow with them. :(
You can count on this though: spending on something will be way up.
Three! Aptera!
Yes, the house here in Puerto Rico is also off-grid (though we have a connection available, just not in use). We moved in 2021, thinking the house would be very easy to sell, but we've never been able to get a real estate agent -- it is too far out in the country! I had no idea Dominican real estate agents were so well off!
looks pretty fancy. the basic construction is a burn barrel with bottom air inlet, set inside a larger sleeve sealed at the bottom, and a chimney over the inner barrel. The inner barrel is filled with wood, and ignited at the top. The chimney is placed over it. Updraft draws air through the burn chamber and the flame is vigorous (burning smoke components completely). As the flame moves downward in the inner barrel, the inner barrel wall heat is transferred to the inlet air flowing in the annular space. That inlet air becomes quite hot and accelerates pyrolysis of the wood. If the wood/fuel is not dense, embers may fly up the stack, but I think that would not normally be an issue.
I think this is right on target. I am leading a volunteer group's efforts to study biochar production and use - though I am not setting the world on fire (biochar joke!). Looks like a great project. I recently experimented with a double wall, chimneyed burner called a TLUD. It is very efficient and smokeless. I think in the long run, we won't burn to make biochar, but that is some years down the road.
You are right about one thing, the US does not yet have a decarbonization strategy - it is like a motor that is not quite starting; banging on a cylinder here or there but not yet running (may this analogy be completely indecipherable in another generation). But maybe things are starting to change a little?
Yes, that would be infuriating.