$5 stove combats global warming, supports energy justice

August 31, 2009 · Posted by in Energy 
Stoves vary in size from that of a paint can to an oil drum and sell for as little as $5. They use 50 percent less wood, making the lives of villagers, such as the ones above in Haiti who is using a stove make by Trees, Water & People, easier. Courtesy of Trees, Water & People via the Denver Post.

Stoves vary in size from that of a paint can to an oil drum and sell for as little as $5. They use 50 percent less wood, making the lives of villagers, such as the ones above in Haiti who is using a stove make by Trees, Water & People, easier. Courtesy of Trees, Water & People via the Denver Post.

Getting simple $5 stoves into the hands of the billions of poor people in the world who still rely on open fires for cooking, heating and lighting would deliver a double-punch, combating both global warming and energy injustices at the same time.

A Colorado company — Trees, Water & People — just won a $1 million prize to expand its cook stove program to Haiti and Central America. From today’s Denver Post:

Their stoves, which vary in size from that of a paint can to an oil drum and sell for as little as $5, let villagers use 50 percent less wood, reducing tree-cutting.

The stoves emit 80 percent less smoke, cutting respiratory harm that the World Health Organization identifies as a major factor in child deaths.

“Climate change is accelerated by deforestation, the cutting and burning of the wood,” said Stuart Conway, 56, co-founder and international operations director for TWP.

The stoves also battle black carbon emissions — or soot — which is one of the least talked about major drivers of global warming. Black carbon not only absorbs heat directly from the sun and heat reflected off the Earth, but it can travel thousands of miles on air currents before settling to the ground. And when the soot settles on ice or snow, it speeds melting.

Read the full story from the Denver Post, or learn more about the energy justice issues associated with the stove project from researchers at the University of Colorado after the jump.

The stoves have a environmental justice component too, according to researchers at the University of Colorado. The school’s Center for Energy and Environmental Security is hosting a Energy Justice Conference in October. This from the center’s director, Lakshman Guruswamy:

Indoor pollution, one manifestation of this other problem, is extracting a horrendous toll of death and sickness, especially among women and children. It blights the 2 to 2.5 billion energy oppressed poor (EOP) who rely on fire as their sole source of energy for cooking, illumination and heating. Fires are made by burning animal dung, waste, crop residues, rotted wood, other forms of “bad” biomass, and raw coal.

Using an open fire, or traditional stove fueled by biomass results in inefficient combustion that releases dangerous quantities of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and other pollutants. These indoor pollutants result in the premature death every year of between 1.3 and 1.6 million women and children from pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung cancer and asthma. They also cause chronic respiratory ailments and debilitating sickness for many more millions.

Read all of Gurswamy’s comments or check out the agenda for the conference, begin held Oct. 23-24, at the center’s Web site, cees.colorado.edu.

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