crop candles
from fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz on 08 Oct 19:11
https://mander.xyz/post/39549594

#science_memes

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Gladaed@feddit.org on 08 Oct 19:14 next collapse

(this is worse)

whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works on 08 Oct 19:31 next collapse

fighting climate change by burning petroleum! Yay

CucumberFetish@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 09 Oct 06:25 collapse

They are fighting not only the symptoms, but also the root cause

village604@adultswim.fan on 08 Oct 21:23 next collapse

Seeing as we don’t fully understand the effects of micro plastics, it might not be.

I’m still convinced that micro plastics will be the final nail in humanity’s coffin, not climate change.

somethingp@lemmy.world on 08 Oct 22:10 next collapse

I think worrying about something that’s an unknown risk while ignoring the very real known risk is somewhat illogical. Especially since I’d imagine there are more than 2 possible solutions for a problem like this. Also this assumes that the produce wouldn’t end up being packaged in some form of plastic at some point before arriving to the consumer anyway.

jerkface@lemmy.ca on 08 Oct 22:29 next collapse

Humans have had several generations of exposure to microplastics. Other closely related mammals like rats have had potentially a hundred generations. One of the reasons plastics are so successful in so many applications is that they are chemically extremely inert. I’m not saying there will be no problems, but if there was going to be a catastrophe, I think you would be able to point to signs by now.

bleistift2@sopuli.xyz on 08 Oct 22:39 collapse

You mean signs like decreased fertility? yaleglobalhealthreview.com/…/microplastics-and-in…

too_high_for_this@lemmy.world on 08 Oct 23:33 next collapse

Too many people anyway

jerkface@lemmy.ca on 09 Oct 01:05 next collapse

Don’t threaten me with a good time; human infertility is a good thing. But if we are affected, it’s likely others are as well.

village604@adultswim.fan on 09 Oct 03:57 next collapse

And that’s why I think they’ll be the nail in our coffin.

Humanity can survive climate change; adapting to our environment is one of the reasons we’re the dominant life form.

Obviously this isn’t saying that climate change is good, but humans have made it through a bottle neck before. But you can’t survive a bottle neck if you can’t make more people.

Plus, the environment would recover when most of humanity is wiped out. Plastics are here for the next few hundred years at least.

I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 11:56 collapse

Oh nooo… Not the fertility. We definitely aren’t an overpopulated species putting extreme strain on all our environments and the planet as a whole. How can we get by if some, not all, breeders can’t fulfill their animalistic urge to have shitty kids?

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 09:04 collapse

humanity’s

idiocracy but plastics based - yep.

Fleur_@aussie.zone on 09 Oct 01:09 next collapse

Oil in plastic from: bad, icky, kills turtles

Oil in fire form: good, warming, organic

starlinguk@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 09:49 collapse

This is only done when there’s an unexpected frost in spring or summer when the poly tunnels have been taken away.

Andrzej3K@hexbear.net on 08 Oct 19:37 next collapse

It works in Minecraft

glitchdx@lemmy.world on 08 Oct 21:43 next collapse

don’t you only see these being used when other preferable infrastructure has already failed, and it’s like, an emergency or something?

Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca on 08 Oct 22:30 collapse

That’s exactly why this is done. It’s an emergency operation if there is a sudden freeze that would kill the vines.

The_v@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 15:47 collapse

A sudden freeze will not kill the vines. Grapes are extremely tough. It can hurt the flower buds though. A severe enough freeze can cut the yield.

For wine grapes less fruit in the bunches = lower quality wine.

bleistift2@sopuli.xyz on 08 Oct 22:40 next collapse

In Germany frost is combated by spraying vines with mist. Freezing water releases heat, which raises the temperature by a few degrees.

pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 09 Oct 04:07 next collapse

Fascinating

starlinguk@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 09:47 collapse

In one of the Laura Ingalls books they run around pouring water on top of their crop early in the morning when it turns out it’s frozen. It seems to be an old method.

Ephera@lemmy.ml on 09 Oct 02:06 next collapse

A while ago, I saw a documentary where they had a big-ass fan on an apple orchard, which they would turn on early in the morning.

The problem is that when it cools down in the night, it can dip below freezing temperatures, which would damage the blossoms, if it stays that low for too long. And the cold air gets trapped between the apple trees, so just creating some artificial wind is apparently a pretty good solution to untrap it and therefore allow things to warm back up as soon as the sun hits.

Just found it interesting that this is a common enough problem, without requiring more drastic solutions like actual heating, so that they came up with this idea.

The documentary is in German, but you can see it at 5:00 here: ardmediathek.de/…/Y3JpZDovL3dkci5kZS9CZWl0cmFnLXN…

Scafir@discuss.tchncs.de on 09 Oct 04:29 next collapse

Turns out that this is common in Japan for tea fields. They mount big fans on poles all accross the field for it (you provably have to zoom in to see them)

<img alt="" src="https://discuss.tchncs.de/pictrs/image/4813aec3-d2a1-40ed-b757-79d49fa027fb.jpeg">

scratchee@feddit.uk on 09 Oct 04:57 collapse

I admit that when you said “big fan” I imagined a wind turbine in reverse.

Zooming into the picture, I see it’s more like desk fans on sticks. I’m sure they’re bigger than that really, but is it really too much to ask for a windmill that does work that way?

pirateKaiser@sh.itjust.works on 09 Oct 12:21 collapse

At this size I imagine you’d have to worry about the fan generating enough force to start tilting and falling without proper support

The_v@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 16:00 collapse

Some varieties of apples blooms are frost sensitive. Others can shrug off a frost and not really care. It’s a genetic difference in the cultivars.

www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/…/html

So if you see a big ass fan in the orchard, it’s because the grower wanted to push a variety that is not well adapted to the local environment.

Electricd@lemmybefree.net on 09 Oct 08:38 collapse

Seems to be worse ecologically

Mubelotix@jlai.lu on 09 Oct 11:18 collapse

It’s actually not. We have entire regions covered with vines. We can’t wrap the whole France in plastic, it’s just not possible. But we can predict where it’s going to freeze and when, so we take such measures on very specific zones with precise timings. So this only happens a few times a year, at precise locations and not for long

The_v@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 15:41 collapse

It’s an old cheap method.

We have much better ways of protecting crops from frost including reusable netting/row covers with supplemental heat from electric heaters. However they cost more so…

r0ertel@lemmy.world on 09 Oct 16:28 collapse

Electric heaters are wasteful. How about spending that energy wisely while also generating heat?

fedia.io/m/nottheonion@lemmy.world/t/2828343

(Sorry for the full link, I can’t figure out how to reference an article on another instance on the mobile app.)