africa, the so called ancient birthplace of civilization, has finally devolved to the point that it can no longer feed/water/clothe or house itself... handouts from around the world will never solve their problems, only perpetuate them...
Posted on 09/23/2010 2:56:32 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A United Nations-backed intervention involving cook stoves holds the promise of saving lives, uplifting health, improving regional environments, reducing deforestation, empowering local entrepreneurs, speeding development, and helping to stem global climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has joined international efforts to dramatically boost the efficiency of some 3 billion cook stoves across Africa, Asia and Latin America, with the aim to protect women’s health and provide significant environmental benefits.
The Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves was launched today on the margins of the General Assembly summit to review progress on the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Part of the Clinton Global Initiative spearheaded by the UN Foundation, the Global Alliance aims to cut the estimated 1.6 million to 1.8 million premature deaths linked with indoor emissions from inefficient cook stoves.
This initiative will also make a contribution to reducing deforestation by curbing the large quantities of wood and other biomass used to make charcoal, and by households switching to alternative fuels, including cookers powered by solar energy.
“In addition to meeting the health targets of the Millennium Development Goals, especially among women and children who are often the most exposed to indoor air pollution, the Alliance may have wider and indeed global benefits,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“Inefficient cooking stoves are estimated to be responsible for approximately 25 per cent of emissions of black carbon, particles often known as soot, of which 40 per cent is linked to wood burning,” he said.
According to research under the UNEP-supported Atmospheric Brown Cloud project, black carbon could now be responsible for between 10 to 40 per cent of current climate change.
Emissions of black carbon may also be accelerating melting rates of glaciers in mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, with the dark particles absorbing sunlight and raising ice temperatures. In addition, black carbon – a key component of brown clouds in some parts of the world – is contributing to dimming and reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the ground in polluted parts of the globe.
For example, some major cities in Asia may be up to 25 per cent dimmer or darker than they were half a century ago. Reductions in visible light may also be harming agriculture, again with implications for poverty and for combating hunger under the MDGs.
Such initiatives as the African Rural Energy Enterprise Development (AREED) have compiled lessons learned with respect to cook stoves. AREED’s most successful project to date has been in Ghana, where start-up funding and support has been provided to a local company called Toyola Energy. The company manufactures a stove which uses charcoal 40 per cent more efficiently than conventional cook stoves.
“From its beginnings as a simple tree-sheltered operation in a community outside Ghana’s capital Accra, Toyola Energy has grown dramatically, increasing sales from 3,000 to over 35,000 units per annum within four years,” said Mr. Steiner. “By 2010, the company had supplied over 50,000 households in six regions of Ghana with improved energy-efficient stoves, and expanded their market to neighbouring countries.”
Toyola Energy has also generated 200 jobs, directly and indirectly, while its stoves have reduced CO2 emissions by some 15,000 tons annually. A key factor in its success was its partnership with UNEP, which is able to raise donor awareness and co-funding, and to provide needed policy reforms to assist small- to medium-sized enterprises.
Without such financial support, clean energy systems, including more efficient cook stoves, can be too expensive for the rural poor, despite fuel savings and the multiple health and environmental benefits. A cook stove can cost up to $5 or much more – way too costly for someone living on less than $2 a day.
UNEP was confronted with this reality when it was looking to bring solar power to rural India, where many banks considered loans to the rural poor too risky. With support from the UN Foundation and the Shell Foundation, UNEP’s Solar Loan Programme made those loans affordable.
Between 2003 and 2008, there were 100,000 stoves in areas with no electricity grid which were able to acquire solar power. The initiative proved so successful it is now self-financing. Today, 20 banks with networks of 2,000 branches are offering competitive solar loans.
UNEP is also supporting a black carbon and cook stoves demonstration project called “Project Surya” in rural areas of India. Having completed its pilot phase in a rural village with 500 households and some 2,500 people, Surya’s demonstration phase has just begun. It will last two years and involve two to three rural areas spread from north to south India, each with a population of 15,000 people. Pilot phases are also being developed for other developing countries, such as Bhutan, Nepal and Kenya.
Controlling the masses.
No, actually what Glenn talked about was how it’s the banks that’s going to get the best out of this, by elitists redistributing our wealth to other countries.
Geez. Loved this part “some 3 billion cook stoves across Africa, Asia and Latin America, with the aim to protect women’s health”.
Total world population is less than 7 billion - sounds like these areas must be so rich that they have multiple cook stoves per household. Selfish wealthy - there should be a global cook stove tax to make sure that there aren’t too many. As to men’s health - so sad, too bad. Throw in a whole bunch of “may” qualifiers on the actual effects of these stoves, and you get the perfect UN press release!
If my experience is any guide, regulation usually benefits the big players and screws the little ones.
Great. Universal adoption of cookstoves all over the world.
While one hand talks "cookstoves" watch the other hand even closer.
“black carbon could now be responsible for between 10 to 40 per cent of current climate change”
I wonder if someone is keeping track of these percentages. I’m betting we’re up to something like 3,000 percent or so by now - everything makes up a large percentage of “climate change,” you know.
Anything with the word ‘Global’ is anti american and the enemy of Freedom. The same goes for anything ‘Green’. Code name for totalitarian socialism and communism.
What an irony!
In the area I live in (southwest Washington State) many folks are turning to wood-burning as an energy source to save money.
i do know for fact that simple solar cooking units provided to third world peoples prevents the necessity of killing a tree for nightly cooking fire. they tend to eat too, unfortunately for some peoples sensibilities.
we see this as a waste here. india has about three hundred hundred million people at this very moment preparing their wood/dung fires for supper.
we spend more on lipstick in a week than it will cost to save a piece of forest larger than texas.
According to research under the UNEP-supported Atmospheric Brown Cloud project, black carbon could now be responsible for between 10 to 40 per cent of current climate change.
Emissions of black carbon may also be accelerating melting rates of glaciers in mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, with the dark particles absorbing sunlight and raising ice temperatures. In addition, black carbon – a key component of brown clouds in some parts of the world – is contributing to dimming and reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the ground in polluted parts of the globe.
For example, some major cities in Asia may be up to 25 per cent dimmer or darker than they were half a century ago. Reductions in visible light may also be harming agriculture, again with implications for poverty and for combating hunger under the MDGs.
"Could", "maybe", "estimated", "may", "10 to 40 percent"....
Man, I love how these charlatans pull numbers out of their rectums. What a load of crap. Way past time for these clowns to be arrested under the Organized Crime laws.
Right on. Needs repeating. America needs healing in a bad way and we should stop funneling bull sh!! around the world. To hell with the rest of the world, nobody stopped them from raising their standards but themselves.
Exactly. Ack - do they just sit around and make up numbers?
Incredible.
I had a college professor who spent a lot of his time promoting the solar ovens to third world countries. They are actually pretty neat and really cheap to make. The hard part is changing the way people cook. You prepare the food in the morning and by the afternoon it is ready. You don’t have to worry about burning or overcooking. I remember driving many miles outside Cancun and seeing all these myans gathering up firewood.
The food would have to be attended the entire time to prevent animals/birds from feasting. A bad day of Sun shine equals slower cooking times and then you have a incubator for food poisoning.
Then you can consider the flies/bugs landing on open cooking containers.
Or they could just buy extraordinarily cheap energy from a coal-fired power station, then eat their meal right away.
Millions of solar stoves don’t come free you know. We’ve all manage to buy electricity and the upkeep of electrical infrastructure: how come Africans apparently need to have everything done for them?
africa, the so called ancient birthplace of civilization, has finally devolved to the point that it can no longer feed/water/clothe or house itself... handouts from around the world will never solve their problems, only perpetuate them...
You are right. That is what aid does - it pauperises a population. Its internal entrepreneurs cannot compete with ‘free’.
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