Posts
Using outlook mail in linux
Due to work I need to use Microsoft outlook mail on a daily basis. What I would like to know is the privacy and security concerns of various options:
- Login and use outlook on a browser for general purposes
- Use a tailered third party client from flatpak such as https://flathub.org/en-GB/apps/io.github.mahmoudbahaa.outlook_for_linux
- Use thunderbird
- Any other possibilities
Is there any use of an end-of-life LED lightbulb?
I have a LED lightbulb that starts to flicker. Is there anyway to fix it, or any parts of it that could be useful for other uses(i.e. diodes for use in electrical circuits)?
Correction: After checking the product serial number carefully it is a fluorescent lightbulb as many pointed out. Thanks for the correction and advice.
(PS I am renting a house now so the type of lightbulb is of my landlord's choice. Obviously were I to choose I would rather have a LED lightbulb)
Some thoughts on solar deployment in Gaza
In the very first days of Israel's most recent war against the Palestinian people, as I saw the news, I realized how many rooftop solar panels there were in Gaza. Not going to lie, it was a surprising and yet simultaneously encouraging scene to see, knowing that these solar infrastructures provide much needed electricity to the local population.
Unfortunately solar currently only supply 20% of electricity demand in Gaza. Palestinian thinktank cited cost and blockade as the main barriers for a more rapid deployment of solar.
Beyond costliness, the Israeli regime has sporadically restricted the entry of materials needed to install solar energy equipment over the past two decades. Moreover, its successive attacks on Gaza have destroyed necessary infrastructure for PV system installation, including residential buildings needed to house a rapidly expanding population, expected to reach 3.1 million in 2030. Combined with diminishing land and roof space, these realities render it extremely challenging for most Palestinians in Gaza to consider adopting PV technology.
Nevertheless, solar deployment in Gaza is still a remarkable achievement. Around a fifth of Gazans have installed solar power in their homes, which is about the same residential solar uptake percentage in Nederland (the EU state with highest solar installed per capita).
Similar to the case in Ukraine, the deployment and actual resiliency of renewable energy infrastructures in Gaza provides invaluable lessons for other people around the world, especially those who are or could at any moment be involved in a similar military conflict.
NREL Explodes Solar Panel Waste Myths
Original comment paper: Unfounded concerns about photovoltaic module toxicity and waste are slowing decarbonization
I read the paper. Behind paywall unfortunately, but the Cleantechnica article quote the paper well enough.
TLDR:
- Material waste from solar very small compared with other activities.
- Most common PVs contain almost none harmful materials. Trace amounts of lead in crystalline silicon modules and the cadmium in CdTe modules are the only potential harm IEA found. But Pb is being phased out, and CdTe compound is quite stable in CdTe modules. Both cadmium and tellurium are recycled into new modules.
- Module lifetime and reusability is increasing.
Treating decommissioned PV modules as a commodity and opportunity for material recovery, and not as hazardous waste would be environmentally and economically beneficial.
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/10/13/nrel-explodes-solar-panel-waste-myths/Open linkView original on slrpnk.net