• 0 Posts
  • 307 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: July 1st, 2023

help-circle




  • Cutting the mining and refining of rare earth oxides, aka the production of rare earth metals. That’s what this conversation is about…

    Xinhua reports (Google translation) that the state will implement a unified plan for the development of the rare earth industry. The aim is to encourage and support the research and development of new technologies, processes, products, and new materials and equipment, it says.

    Regulations will be implemented to control the total amount of rare earth mining and smelting. Additionally, Beijing intends to introduce a product traceability system to “strictly manage circulation” of rare earths.

    According to Nikkei Asia, underground resources in China already belong to the state, but illegal mining and smelting of rare earth elements is known to happen in the private sector, and it seems that Beijing is keen to tighten its control over them.

    It’s in every article about this. The price of rare earth ore in China has dropped precipitously, almost 80% since 2022. China is going to punish unauthorized mining and smelting activity and limit production among authorized producers.

    Here’s one article, use your favorite search engine to find a bunch more











  • You might’ve insulated your garage door, but did you weatherize it? You can get decent weather stripping to go along all 4 edges of the door to block off the cracks. As far as insulating your garage ceiling, it’s something I’ve considered too, but one thing I don’t have an answer too is how that would affect the airflow or code compliance for my gas furnace and gas water heater, which are both in the garage.

    Also, when we did an exterior remodel, we discovered there was no insulation in the exterior garage wall, only in the walls shared with the interior of the house, so you may be contending with that. We had that wall insulated when we did the renovation, and it made a noticeable difference. I’ve also planted trees to shade that garage wall, otherwise it gets blasted with afternoon sun.

    If I had the energy and time, I would put batt insulation above the garage ceiling and also replace my attic stairs, which are old and poorly sealed. A mini split AC would also be pretty sweet.

    You might be interested in watching videos by Matt Risinger on YouTube, he does a ton on insulation projects in 70s-80s builds in Texas