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Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

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Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#261

Post by hnarn »

carabiner wrote: post #247
hnarn wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I refuse to believe that all air filtering fans on Amazon are sold out, especially considering their extreme popularity in countries all over Asia. And even if we assume that’s the case for the sake of argument, you can still buy N95 particle masks of many different brands which will protect you well from particles in the air. They also mostly protect you from viruses. There was a pretty massive supply shortage of th…

Sold out until this Friday when this is all supposed to be over, unless it's a very weak filter that won't do anything for smoke. Show me where you can get genuine N95 masks (as a non-essential worker) as well please. There are tons of counterfeit masks going around.

It’s not my job to help you find N95 masks, they’re available from most hardware stores and definitely from Amazon. I just looked and there’s at least one type available on Amazon that’s not 3M in addition to full respirator masks and everything in between, and it’s easy to find other stores through Google that sell 3M disposable masks if that happens to be the only one you trust.

In addition to that, loose particle filters as spare parts are not uncommon and you can literally strap any filter on a fan, close your windows and start forcing indoor air through it to improve the ambient air quality.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#262

Post by samatman »

ceejayoz wrote: post #42
SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prehistoric fires are believed to have been much larger than the current ones. In California for example, this year's historic 3.4 million acres fall below estimates for average fire area, although I don't know if California is just unusually fire-prone. Sources/readings: https://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/Resources/Conservation/Fi... https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/tmdl/re...

> Prehistoric fires are believed to have been much larger than the current ones. Sure, but humans weren't a) burning a hundred million years worth of fossil fuels and b) siphoning off all the water in the area to grow almonds at that time. Fire size in acres isn't the only variable, either; the article I linked states "The fire was so intense in some places that it burned up all organic matter needed to help the soil…

I'm not sure how almonds came to be the go-to example of waste in California agriculture, but they're a bad one.

- Almonds can't be grown in most places, California is uniquely well-suited to it.

- California almond-growing practices are (much) more wasteful than they need to be. Israeli almond farmers can grow an almond with 1/20th the water used in California; the main innovation is irrigating into a three-foot-deep pipe, instead of spraying water on the surface, where most of it evaporates. Switching California's practices to match would be a relatively simple matter of insisting upon it.

- Almond farming uses an insignificant, single-digit amount of California's agricultural water budget. 45% of California water is splurged on alfalfa growing for fodder. Which can be grown anywhere, is a bad match for the climate and water resources, and is the place where any rational attempt to bring California agriculture into alignment with reality should begin.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#263

Post by [deleted] »

marcosdumay wrote: post #193
DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry you guys are experiencing this. I hope that my question isn't foolish, but is it possible that the deforestation in the Amazon is partially causing the reduced rain?

I don't think so. First, the forest covering of the Amazon didn't change that much on the last few years. Don't let international press fool you, the forest isn't "all burning down". It's burning down a lot, but not that much. But more importantly, the rain on that region is mostly from oceanic and local humidity (São Paulo is in a forest area, with plenty of rivers). It rains less there in La Niña years. I don't kno…

[deleted]

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#264

Post by shard »

carabiner wrote: post #227
gonehome wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not order a few HEPA filter air purifiers? I have 4 (5th is on its way). They work extremely well and if you pair them with a Temptop AQI sensor you can see how well in real time: https://www.temtopus.com/collections/temtopus-pm2-5-pm10-mon... Those temptop sensors are great. I've previously had awair, foobot, and purple sensors which all sucked in different ways. Really long thread about this here: https://www.r…

> Why not order a few HEPA filter air purifiers? Everyone keeps saying this when they have been all sold out for the past 10 days.

I popped into Home Depot last Thursday and there were stacks of furnace filters and box fans available. Lowes and Ace Hardware websites show availability as well. Head down and take a look, YMMV in your area.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#265

Post by kibibyte »

hnarn wrote: post #244
carabiner wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why not order a few HEPA filter air purifiers? Everyone keeps saying this when they have been all sold out for the past 10 days.

I refuse to believe that all air filtering fans on Amazon are sold out, especially considering their extreme popularity in countries all over Asia. And even if we assume that’s the case for the sake of argument, you can still buy N95 particle masks of many different brands which will protect you well from particles in the air. They also mostly protect you from viruses. There was a pretty massive supply shortage of th…

Looking at the current Amazon search results for “air purifier”: first one doesn’t ship to California, second is out of stock, third one is ridiculously expensive ($800!) and been shown to have a questionable effectiveness, fourth one can only cover a small room (and won’t arrive until next week), fifth and sixth ones are out of stock.

Also most people don’t enjoy wearing an N95 mask for a long time. Imagine wearing one for 8 hours while trying to sleep because you haven’t been able to get a filter. You can try to close every window and door and such in your house, but no one’s insulation is perfect and the air will get bad after a few hours.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#266

Post by SomewhatLikely »

aaomidi wrote: post #124
mensetmanusman wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but they don’t keep the air clean nearly as fast as putting room air purifiers near people (closer to source) unless you have an HVAC that is so powerful you feel wind inside..

It's really not related to wind speed or hvac power. If you have a well insulated house then a normal hvac system can maintain positive pressure and keep the air inside clean. Assuming it's designed for that purpose. Alternatively just having a bunch of box fans forcing air through filters is also good. That's essentially what a air purifier is.

How is positive pressure maintained? It seems like there would be continual loss of air to the environment that would have to be replaced. Ideally the replacement air would come through a filter, but at least in a central hvac system I don't think that happens. I suppose the new air coming in wouldn't be a big deal if the average air molecule doors a full cycle through the hvac many times before being lost again to the outside environment.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#267

Post by irrational »

kirillzubovsky wrote: post #239

Yup. It's been a fun weekend. Everyone in the family is feeling the cabin fever, but outside (Bellevue, WA) smells like inside of a fireplace. We put a few boxed fans with HEPA filters around the house and they are now black. In hindsight, should've bought more filters, but all the stores and Amazon are sold out for the near future. Speaking about the future, this puts planning in perspective. With the climate changi…

I happened to be at Home Depot the day after the skies turned gray with ash. I noticed a ton of people down one aisle and wondered what was going on. It turned out to be the Air Filter aisle. Oh right. I was able to grab the very last air filter for my furnace size. Everything else was cleaned out.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#268

Post by carabiner »

hnarn wrote: post #261
carabiner wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sold out until this Friday when this is all supposed to be over, unless it's a very weak filter that won't do anything for smoke. Show me where you can get genuine N95 masks (as a non-essential worker) as well please. There are tons of counterfeit masks going around.

It’s not my job to help you find N95 masks, they’re available from most hardware stores and definitely from Amazon. I just looked and there’s at least one type available on Amazon that’s not 3M in addition to full respirator masks and everything in between, and it’s easy to find other stores through Google that sell 3M disposable masks if that happens to be the only one you trust. In addition to that, loose particle…

> they’re available from most hardware stores

Home Depot, Lowes etc. have been sold out of or have been donating their N95's since this all started. So you're wrong there. Try searching again, like I did.

> definitely from Amazon

I said genuine. Many of these have been found to be counterfeit. They may not be, but neither you nor I really know. Essential workers have been given priority everywhere in the US for 3M ones. Maybe they're not giving them the KN95's for a reason, or maybe they're mistaken and that they're actually fine.

> loose particle filters as spare parts are not uncommon and you can literally strap any filter on a fan, close your windows and start forcing indoor air through it to improve the ambient air quality.

...which don't do anything for smoke unless they're MERV8-ish or so or above. Which are all sold out until next week.

These are all the state of things regardless of how you "refuse to believe" or how much you "doubt." I, like every single person on the west coast, have been trying to track these down and this is what I've experienced.

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#269

Post by shard »

Verdex wrote: post #71
CydeWeys wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Source? What makes combustion particulates from coal substantially worse than combustion particulates from wood?

Coal can have radioactive materials inside of it. There's radioactive carbon (c14) and it looks like also a bunch of more concerning materials. [] - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-... .

How does the radioactivity from coal compare with the radioactivity from bananas?

Re: Smoke has caused temperature forecasts to go crazy

#270

Post by carabiner »

shard wrote: post #264
carabiner wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why not order a few HEPA filter air purifiers? Everyone keeps saying this when they have been all sold out for the past 10 days.

I popped into Home Depot last Thursday and there were stacks of furnace filters and box fans available. Lowes and Ace Hardware websites show availability as well. Head down and take a look, YMMV in your area.

This isn't a nationwide shortage. Everyone in Seattle has been calling every Home Depot, Lowe's, and they've been sold out for a while. My local one in Bellevue was cleared out of all filters on Sunday, not even just the FPR10's. Ace's seems to be the most annoying. It lists a bunch of HEPA filters, then the product pages shows all of them are unavailable for pickup.
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