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A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

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Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#21

Post by johannes1234321 »

h2odragon wrote: post #3

People concern for "air quality" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage everything they could smell was doing to them. Perhaps we should be encased in sterile bubbles at birth, with all inputs filtered for purity and consistency. Surely that would be the best way to avoid all the dire consequences of the pollutants surrounding us.

For one humanity massively increased air pollution in the middle of last century since then discussions (which existed before as well) became more.

Also understanding of problems caused by this and availability of alternatives increased.

We can see how life expectancy improved in areas where pollution was reduced.

In the end you could mind the survivorship bias. Sure, people survived through the past, but many had earlier death due to pollution.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#22

Post by musingsole »

dekhn wrote: post #4
josefresco wrote: post #2

Text for those who don't do the bird site: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human — 80 to 100 watts, also consuming about the same amount of oxygen and producing the same amount of CO2. In an enclosed area, adding candles is about like adding people from an air quality standpoint.

except that candles don't just produce CO2, they produce soot and many other molecules which have been clearly associated with negative health outcomes.

And humans don't just produce CO2. They shed everything from dust to viruses.

Really, humans are the health concern we should be paying more attention to.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#23

Post by koolba »

delecti wrote: post #14
h2odragon wrote: post #3

People concern for "air quality" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage everything they could smell was doing to them. Perhaps we should be encased in sterile bubbles at birth, with all inputs filtered for purity and consistency. Surely that would be the best way to avoid all the dire consequences of the pollutants surrounding us.

> how in the world humanity survived to this point By outbreeding the fact that we also died a bunch for unknown reasons. And I think this tweet is actually a fairly calming view on things. I wouldn't hesitate to share a room with a couple extra people, so I won't worry about a few candles occasionally, because they're a nice benefit to the space. Meanwhile it's an absolute no-brainer (for me and many other people) t…

> Meanwhile it's an absolute no-brainer (for me and many other people) to avoid gas stoves, because they don't have any ambience benefits and my local power grid is quite stable.

Not sure about ambience, but pita bread heated directly on the flame of a gas stove cannot be beat. It’s faster and more delicious than any electric toaster.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#24

Post by LinuxBender »

idopmstuff wrote: post #20
dsfyu404ed wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The chemical alternatives don't exactly give me confidence (though who really knows what's in a modern candle?). At least candles are a known-known even if non-optimal.

I have something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ElusiaKa-Ceramic-Electric-Fragrance-A... Melts the wax and gives you that lovely smell without any fire. The wax also lasts much longer in one of these than in candle form.

I may try one of those. My local grocery store has a few of them. Are they hard to clean?

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#25

Post by zug_zug »

slickdork wrote: post #10
h2odragon wrote: post #3

People concern for "air quality" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage everything they could smell was doing to them. Perhaps we should be encased in sterile bubbles at birth, with all inputs filtered for purity and consistency. Surely that would be the best way to avoid all the dire consequences of the pollutants surrounding us.

h2odragon in 1890: People concern for "Germs" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage everything they could touch was doing to them. Perhaps we should wash our hands with soap, with all inputs filtered for purity and consistency. Surely that would be the best way to avoid all the dire consequences of the pollutants surrounding us.

h2odragon in 1950:

People concern for "leaded gasoline" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage simply being near a car is doing to them.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#26

Post by degif »

Gordonjcp wrote: post #16
degif wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Air quality in this context is not about smells or the sterility of the air, but simply just about the oxygen level.

Maybe your house shouldn't be a sealed plastic bubble.

Oh my house is pretty well passively ventilated. Not sure what has my house to do with the fact that lighting a candle consumes oxygen though.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#27

Post by BeefWellington »

melling wrote: post #7
h2odragon wrote: post #3

People concern for "air quality" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage everything they could smell was doing to them. Perhaps we should be encased in sterile bubbles at birth, with all inputs filtered for purity and consistency. Surely that would be the best way to avoid all the dire consequences of the pollutants surrounding us.

Well, I wouldn’t say it’s a recent concern. Nixon started the EPA in 1970. Historically, there have been issues with coal and air quality. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog_of_London Now that we have 8 billion people on the planet at once, even a small human footprint adds up.

Visiting any older city in Europe that hasn't had a good cleaning done to every building, you can really see the soot buildup that remains even today on buildings that are being cleaned[1][2] for example. Granted that was acquired over centuries of burning coal and wood to heat houses.

[1]: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/nostalgia/manch...

[2]: https://old.reddit.com/r/powerwashingporn/comments/6d3l6p/th...

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#28

Post by JohnBooty »

IceDane wrote: post #8
h2odragon wrote: post #3

People concern for "air quality" lately has me wondering how in the world humanity survived to this point, in utter ignorance of the horrid damage everything they could smell was doing to them. Perhaps we should be encased in sterile bubbles at birth, with all inputs filtered for purity and consistency. Surely that would be the best way to avoid all the dire consequences of the pollutants surrounding us.

Sterile bubbles?? Made of what, plastic? But what of the microplastics? I upvoted your comment because I, too, am tired of the constant doom and gloom rhetoric. It turns out that practically anything and everything we are exposed to as we live our lives can have negative effects on us. I'm gonna keep using scented candles, and if they want to be the death of me, well, they will just have to get in line behind basical…

    constant doom and gloom rhetoric
That's a take you share with many, without a doubt.

I view it more like performance optimization. Clear correlation between CO2 levels and cognition. Clear correlation between "air quality" in general and health. I try to optimize for those things when possible. When I deviate from that I'd at least like it to be an informed decision.

Do you think there's a happy middle ground between "doom and gloom" and "utter ignorance?" I do. Many of us find knowledge more comforting than ignorance.

I still use my gas stove. I'm just more conscientious about it now. Candles... yeah I don't use them enough for it to be a factor. Hell, I even burn incense sometimes and that's literally designed to flood the air with particulates. (Japanese incense burns a bit more cleanly, FWIW)

I just like to be informed, I suppose.

    I'm gonna keep using scented candles
Me too.

    and if they want to be the death of me, well
A candle has roughly the effect of one resting person in terms of heat and CO2. That's... small.

Nobody is claiming that's bad or that you shouldn't use them, and certainly not Carmack in the linked tweet.

If you've willfully misinterpreted his tweet as "doom and gloom" or "candles are gonna kill us, don't use 'em" than that is a very conscious choice you have made, and one unrelated to reality.

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#29

Post by fastball »

musingsole wrote: post #22
dekhn wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

except that candles don't just produce CO2, they produce soot and many other molecules which have been clearly associated with negative health outcomes.

And humans don't just produce CO2. They shed everything from dust to viruses. Really, humans are the health concern we should be paying more attention to.

I don't know about you, but seems to me like we paid a lot of attention to humans as a vector for poor health over the last 3 years...

Re: A candle produces roughly the same amount of energy as a resting human

#30

Post by fastball »

Gordonjcp wrote: post #17
delecti wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how in the world humanity survived to this point By outbreeding the fact that we also died a bunch for unknown reasons. And I think this tweet is actually a fairly calming view on things. I wouldn't hesitate to share a room with a couple extra people, so I won't worry about a few candles occasionally, because they're a nice benefit to the space. Meanwhile it's an absolute no-brainer (for me and many other people) t…

> Meanwhile it's an absolute no-brainer (for me and many other people) to avoid gas stoves Surely you mean avoiding dangerous electric stoves, which emit hazardous electromagnetic radiation? Edit: Yup, everyone bit. Christ you're a bunch of dafties.

Is non-ionizing radiation hazardous?
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