Article on BBc website about "tackling cooking smoke"

[bushcraftbob]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11381760

Thought may be of interest to the folks of BCUK. Cant wait to try out my "low pollution stove" in my teepee in the woods.

BB

 

[iamasmith]

I've always been glad of a bit of smoke to keep the noseeums and mozzies away to be honest. If I think I'm getting too much I move round the fire

 

[Laurentius]

It's almost enough to turn me into a climate change sceptic.

I am beginning to wonder whether it is advanced western technology or "paleaothechnology" to borrow a term from Lewis Mumford that is responsible for global warming.

I guess at the end of the day it is just sheer numbers, there are too many of us on the planet to practise the old ways

 

[sandsnakes]

looks like they should all be using a kelly kettle.

 

[EdS]

no suprise - too many people = too many fires. And yet smoke is harmful to health.

As an aside did you know one of the biggest cause of the LA smokes in the 70s -80 (and to some extent today) way the BBQ griddles in fast food outlets. The shear number of them and they type of emissions.

 

[Celt_Ginger]

Sounds like a money making scheme to me. Is this about American corporations trying to fleece the poor?

 

[gregorach]

Sounds like a money making scheme to me. Is this about American corporations trying to fleece the poor?

How?

 

[Ray Britton]

An interesting article IMHO, but also not balanced.

If any fire can burn cleaner then that is good, but it must also be noted that the problem is largely in Asia, and literally millions of folks there will not be able to change their fires, or maybe feel the need to do so, because of a politician they have not heard of from another continent says so.

Also, I feel it is rarely mentioned (or perhaps known by reporters) that like for like, a small wood burning fire is 12-15 times more environmentally friendly than gas. I'm sorry I don't have any sources for that to hand, but it goes along the lines of the fact wood is renewable, does not need to be extracted, does not need to be transported, does not need to be stored, does not need metal containers etc.

 

[Tengu]

Yes, how did our ancestors manage?

 

[Andy BB]

It's population. Recently drove across the border from Lilongwe in Malawi to Zambia. On the Malawi side, countryside was basically scrub - very few trees at all. As soon as you crossed the border, lush vegetation and an abundance of trees. The reason is apparently that Malawi is relatively heavily populated and use wood for cooking fires. Zambia is much less densely populated, hence more trees still standing.

 

[Celt_Ginger]

How?

"It aims to introduce modern low-pollution stoves to the homes of 100 million poor people by 2020.

Clean stoves run on biomass (with chimneys and clean-burn mechanisms), or gas, or on solar power."

Who supplies the stoves, the gas or the solar panels? I'm guessing that these will not be provided for free.

 

[robin wood]

Yes, how did our ancestors manage?

Our ancestors like folk in rural populations in Africa and Asia today spent a lot of hours collecting fuel and burnt it in very inefficient ways, this meant they inhaled a lot of smoke and died younger.

Simple clean burn stoves are one of the very best intermediate technologies and right up there with clean water and sanitation in the scale of cheap simple aid that makes a real difference in peoples lives.

I wholeheartedly support this initiative. Shame the stove on show is a super high tech made in the west solar cooker. Most of the work in this area over the last 30 years concentrates on simple developments that can be made by local masons and potters to greatly increase fuel efficiency and decrease smoke inhalation.

few more links the global alliance of that are working on this.
http://cleancookstoves.org/
This is Adam Hart-Davies youtube showing the difference a simple chimney can make. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDBOSA7rvjM
A bit of academic research looking at use of one particular stove. http://www.hedon.info/ImprovedCookstoveTechnologyForRuralLivelihoodsForWomen

I suspect the global alliance follows campaign work led by one of my favourite charities, they used to be called "intermediate technology" and were set up by EF Schumacker author of small is beautiful but they changed their name to "practical action". They still do great work and talk good sense. This is their 2004 report on smoke in the kitchen.
http://practicalaction.org/?id=smoke_report_home#Contents