[Bret L]

Having grown up around used book stores, I learned that one little
discussed but important quality of a book is its combustibility.
Whereas others chopped or bought firewood, we burned books-not because
we wanted to suppress their content but for the caloric value. Burning
books is often the best way to recycle them.

One gets the heat value, but also reduces them to CO2 and ash. The
ash is scattered on the fertile ground where it is plowed under and
rejoins the soil and the plants use the beneficial CO2. What could be
better? Repulping of course, but the fact is paper is only recycled to
pacify environmentalist whackos: it really is uneconomic.

The best books to burn are Readers' Digest Condensed Books and old
church hymnals, missalettes and Bibles. Old pulpy paperbacks burn well
too.

Don't waste too much time trying to burn very slick or clay coated,
shiny paper as it leaves a huge pile of clay ash and is very tough to
burn. Unless it is carefully interleaved with better fuel it will
often just go out.

Newsprint and phone books are good fuel as well but must be carefully
stacked.

I burned hundreds of old musty magazines last year. There were a lot
of Electronics Illustrated, Modern Mechanix and Popular Electronics
along with a bunch of old Sams' of 60s and 70s TVs. They have no value
and smelled musty so up they went.

I hauled three 55 gallon barrels of ash out and deposited them on
some tillable farmland the owner said would be fine to do that. He
throws **** from the zoo and whatnot on the ground before plowing and
says it improves the soil.

[Patrick Turner]

Below is a reallty strange post on burning books.

I'm reminded of the German nazi rampages in the 1930's where the nazi
goons went around making bonfires of books.

Then the Chinese Cutural Revolution comes to mind. Then the Mc Carthy
era in the US.

I recommend books not be burnt, but read instead.

However, having said all that, there are mountains of surplus unwanted
books, maybe 0.00000000000000000000000001% of the Earth's carbon content
that now threatens to clutter our world.

Bret says we orta burn em, but after a People's Democratic Tribunal
Meeting has selected the the books that are inestimally boring, full of
unmittigated bull-****, we might then roast them slowly to convert them
to charcoal, and THEN plow them into fields for growing crops.
Increasing soil carbon is better than lacing it with ash, and relasing
CO2.

Bret, you really do need a broader education about good farming
practices and about competent disposal or waste containing carbon.

But I recommend you never write a book; I know what some folks might do
with it.

Patrick Turner.



Bret L wrote:

Having grown up around used book stores, I learned that one little
discussed but important quality of a book is its combustibility.
Whereas others chopped or bought firewood, we burned books-not because
we wanted to suppress their content but for the caloric value. Burning
books is often the best way to recycle them.

One gets the heat value, but also reduces them to CO2 and ash. The
ash is scattered on the fertile ground where it is plowed under and
rejoins the soil and the plants use the beneficial CO2. What could be
better? Repulping of course, but the fact is paper is only recycled to
pacify environmentalist whackos: it really is uneconomic.

The best books to burn are Readers' Digest Condensed Books and old
church hymnals, missalettes and Bibles. Old pulpy paperbacks burn well
too.

Don't waste too much time trying to burn very slick or clay coated,
shiny paper as it leaves a huge pile of clay ash and is very tough to
burn. Unless it is carefully interleaved with better fuel it will
often just go out.

Newsprint and phone books are good fuel as well but must be carefully
stacked.

I burned hundreds of old musty magazines last year. There were a lot
of Electronics Illustrated, Modern Mechanix and Popular Electronics
along with a bunch of old Sams' of 60s and 70s TVs. They have no value
and smelled musty so up they went.

I hauled three 55 gallon barrels of ash out and deposited them on
some tillable farmland the owner said would be fine to do that. He
throws **** from the zoo and whatnot on the ground before plowing and
says it improves the soil.

[Bret L]

On Aug 4, 1:20 pm, Patrick Turner wrote:
Below is a reallty strange post on burning books.

I'm reminded of the German nazi rampages in the 1930's where the nazi
goons went around making bonfires of books.

Then the Chinese Cutural Revolution comes to mind. Then the Mc Carthy
era in the US.

I recommend books not be burnt, but read instead.

However, having said all that, there are mountains of surplus unwanted
books, maybe 0.00000000000000000000000001% of the Earth's carbon content
that now threatens to clutter our world.

Bret says we orta burn em,

Not to suppress their content but to recycle the material of old ones
no one wants. Big, big difference.

Bibles, BoMs, BCPs, hymnals, all wore out.

Readers Digest Condensed Books. Old phone books. Books some
politician wrote to get elected in 1974. Textbooks that give equal
treatment to evolution and creation.

You want them??