OK, so this post doesn’t fall into the poetry, blood, or shack category but I wanted to share two articles in AK papers I
came across lately that got me excited about the new thinking that is going into alternative fuels. What excites me is the whole ‘post-apocalypse’ aspect of it all, I mean living in Alaska people here remain closer to the concept of survival than elsewhere in the world. I know that regardless of how well insulated my house is or how little fuel oil I burn (none) to heat my home, or how green the source of electricity that feeds my furnace (hydro), when the shit starts storming and there’s no electricity, I’m going to wish I had that wood stove installed to heat my home and cook my meals.
I’m excited about the concept of waste-wood products (pellets, bricks) due to their high concentration of BTUs, low moisture content (in Southeast AK even seasoned wood is soggy) and low residual ash. Don’t know how the plastic back to oil would apply but it’s cool for sure.
Prince of Wales Biofuel Coop could bring cost-effective, locally produced waste-wood products to the Juneau market if only there’s enough mill-waste to keep this production sustainable without digging back into new virgin old growth stands. My question really is, will the mills run and produce waste if they are relegated to milling 2nd growth? Read more, here.
K&K Recycling and Chena Hot Springs Resort (already an innovator in the geothermal world) have begun re-liquefying plastics to create a fuel-oil like substance that might just turn out to be a reasonable alternative form of recycling/re-use in communities too remote for recycling to off-site locations/buyers to be sustainable.
Jonas Lamb 