Alcohol stoves (was [at-l] LONGISH, Trail Magic ,etc.)

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

well, I've had a good slug of wild turkey tonight, so I thought I would
stir the environmental pot a little . . . seems to me some thought could
be given, at least after a stiff drink, to the following:

1)  White gas is a renewable fuel generated from the sun also; it's just
a matter of timing on the "renewable" definition! :)

2)  The primary emission from a zip stove is not CO2, but rather
particulates - the very same mess that more and more studies are linking
to nasty breathing diseases ranging from asthma to lung cancer, etc.

3)  I personally would hate to have to rely on a zip stove for winter
months, or even spring months up at high elevations . . .

4)  When it warms up a bit, the real environmental alternative is not to
cook warm meals; there is no mutritional reason to do so . . . thus it
all then becomes a matter of firing up various polluting devices for
one's selfish pleasure desires . . . and thus becomes a bit of a
Clintonian matter of splitting hairs [ahem] as to which polluting device
one uses to assuage those selfish, hedonistic desires! :)

5)  I personally went for five months on the AT with an 11 oz MSR white
gas fuel bottle, and only refilled it 3 times . . . just simply did not
use my stove very often - that's the real enviro answer - quit cooking
so much! :)

thru-thinker

[sloppily running and weaving to avoid the slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune!]

"Bob C." wrote:
> 
> I've  had  a  Whisperlite  for  more  than  a decade (before that various butane
> concoctions and a Sevea).
> 
> But  the  only  stove I would take on a long distance hike is a wood-burning Zip
> Stove.
> 
> At  16  ounces and no fuel worries or fuel weight, I think it is the ideal trail
> stove.  Other devices are more convenient and less dirty. But I find the freedom
> from  fuel  worries  over  powers  all the draw backs. I like to be able to boil
> drinking  water  when  it  seems  appropriate,  cook  for  an hour when the mood
> strikes, and be independent of towns.
> 
> With my Zip I often avoid town stops for 10 days or more by using the food often
> left in shelters by hikers along the trail.
> 
>  A  wood-burning stove is also the most environmentally benign fuel source. Wood
>  is a renewable resource, essentially generated by the sun. The primary emission
>  is  carbon  dioxide,  which  is  recycled  by plants into more wood, a slightly
>  faster,  but  essentially similar chemical process that accompanies the natural
>  decay of all unburned wood..
> 
>  If  I  were  into  frequent  town  stops,  I  might  use alcohol, which is also
>  manufactured  from  organic  matter.  But  I  go on long distance backpacks for
>  respites  from  civilized considerations. The twigs found on every forest floor
>  magically  provides all the fuel I need, easily, inexpensively and with minimum
>  assault on the earth's resources.
> 
>  As  I've  said  many  times,  "leave  no  trace" is an impossible goal for most
>  hikers.  But leaving minimum trace on the earth's finite resources is a goal we
>  should all aspire to.
> 
>  That's why wood is my fuel of choice both on the trail and off.
> 
>  Weary
> 
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