South Africa: Arivi Paraffin Stove – Finalist in 2009 INDEX Awards

June 23, 2009 · 0 comments

The product: The Arivi Paraffin Stove.

The stove has 3 main benefits, the first is that the flame self extinguishes when knocked over, tilted, moved or refilled. The second is the increased efficiency, saving users 32% of their paraffin costs. Thirdly, the stove produces almost no particles or smoke and less than half the amount of carbon monoxide required by law, reducing indoor pollution which causes respiratory ailments. A limited number of stoves are being offered for pre-ordered sale to anyone who believes in this cause and wants to help. Please go to www.myarivi.com to find out how you can help.

The Problem it Solves:
The Arivi Paraffin Stove is designed for low-income households as a safe, efficient and clean-burning answer to the raging shack fires that annually affect more than 60,000 South Africans and cost the country an estimated $10 billion each year.

The People Behind the Product:
Tasos Calantzis CEO – Tasos is an industrial designer and the CEO of Readymade. He holds a B.Tech degree in Industrial Design from Johannesburg University and has lectured at universities in South Africa, the USA and Canada. He has served on his alma mater’s Advisory Council for Industrial Design and their Peer Review Panel.

Frederick Kruger CTO – Frederick is an Industrial Designer and CTO of Readymade. He holds a BTech Industrial Design degree from the University of Johannesburg. His work has won some of the world’s most prestigious awards including the German Red Dot Award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Awards, as well as a SABS design award.

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2009 PCIA Forum Proceedings are Online

June 22, 2009 · 0 comments

Some 262 Partners from 35 countries gathered at the 4th Biennial Partnership for Clean Indoor Air Forum in Kampala, Uganda March 23 – 29, 2009 to document results to date, learn from effective programs & activities – celebrate results, review, further develop & affirm strategies for success and commit to organizational and global actions aimed at bold future goals. A record number of participants made this the largest gathering of household energy and health practitioners, leaders and experts focused on clean and efficient cooking technologies and fuels to date.

Link – http://www.pciaonline.org/proceedings/2009Forum

Guatemala – Personal child and mother carbon monoxide exposures and kitchen levels

June 22, 2009 · 0 comments

Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology advance online publication, 17 June 2009; doi:10.1038/jes.2009.30.

Personal child and mother carbon monoxide exposures and kitchen levels: Methods and results from a randomized trial of woodfired chimney cookstoves in Guatemala (RESPIRE).

Smith KR, McCracken JP, Thompson L, Edwards R, Shields KN, Canuz E, Bruce N.

Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.

During the first randomized intervention trial (RESPIRE: Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects) in air pollution epidemiology, we pioneered application of passive carbon monoxide (CO) diffusion tubes to measure long-term personal exposures to woodsmoke. Here we report on the protocols and validations of the method, trends in personal exposure for mothers and their young children, and the efficacy of the introduced improved chimney stove in reducing personal exposures and kitchen concentrations. Passive diffusion tubes originally developed for industrial hygiene applications were deployed on a quarterly basis to measure 48-hour integrated personal carbon monoxide exposures among 515 children 0-18 months of age and 532 mothers aged 15-55 years and area samples in a subsample of 77 kitchens, in households andomized into control and intervention groups. Instrument comparisons among types of passive diffusion tubes and against a continuous electrochemical CO monitor indicated that tubes responded nonlinearly to CO, and regression calibration was used to reduce this bias. Before stove introduction, the baseline arithmetic (geometric) mean 48-h child (n=270), mother (n=529) and kitchen (n=65) levels were, respectively, 3.4 (2.8), 3.4 (2.8) and 10.2 (8.4) p.p.m. The between-group analysis of the 3355 post-baseline measurements found CO levels to be significantly lower among the intervention group during the trial period: kitchen levels: -90%; mothers: -61%; and children: -52% in geometric means. No significant deterioration in stove effect was observed over the 18 months of surveillance. The reliability of these findings is strengthened by the large sample size made feasible by these unobtrusive and inexpensive tubes, measurement error reduction through instrument calibration, and a randomized, longitudinal study design. These results from the first randomized trial of improved household energy technology in a developing country and demonstrate that a simple chimney stove can substantially reduce chronic exposures to harmful indoor air pollutants among women and infants.

US to fund $600 million clean energy projects in Asia

June 22, 2009 · 0 comments

US to fund $.6-B clean energy deals

21 June 2009 22:59

CONTINUING its turnaround from the Bush years, the United States has pledged nearly $600 million in funding assistance from October this year to support clean-energy projects in Asia and in other parts of the world; and itself plans to spend $150 billion to propel development of renewable fuels and other new energy sources.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said, “The US understands that making clean energy a reality is essential to climate change and enhancing energy security. We also want to promote the adoption of clean-energy technology, help nations adapt to climate change and encourage sustainable land and water use.”

She was speaking at the Asia Clean Energy and Climate Week 2009 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila last week, where she also said green energy is creating great new opportunities for the US and Asian economies as politicians realize that the best way to curb greenhouse-gas emissions without harming economic growth is through renewable sources.

Attended by more than 600 energy professionals from more than 50 countries, the forum focused on looking for clean-energy initiatives that can help Philippine and Asian businesses weather the global economic downturn and strengthen the long-term energy security in the region.

Kenney said that US President Barack Obama has made the transformation of the country into a leader in clean energy innovation a key goal of his administration.

“President Obama has made clean energy a hallmark and a centerpiece of his plans as well as addressing the global climate change and a speedy global economic recovery. Looking beyond our borders to the international arena, we understand, and our president has clearly stated, that clean energy is a priority and a reality in addressing climate change and enhancing energy security.”

She recalled that just last week, a US Senate committee approved a comprehensive energy package requiring utilities to generate 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind power by 2021.

Kenney said that in Asia, Washington through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) already has environmental programs under way in more than a half a dozen countries that create clean energy, mitigate climate change, save energy, conserve biodiversity and promote the sustainable use of land and water resources.

In China, Indonesia and the Philippines, the US is working with new partners to support efforts of private financing advisory networks, she added. In its first nine months, this network has identified energy projects in Asia that hold the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 13 million tonnes.

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DRC – Mercy Corps stove project

June 22, 2009 · 0 comments

Simple things can make the biggest difference in the DRC, Source: Mercy Corps

Date: 19 Jun 2009, by Laura Miller

When asked by family or friends after a field visit, “How was your trip?” or “What’s new in Africa?” I’m often guilty of giving oversimplified responses, though I realize our programs go way beyond “fine” and “interesting.”

For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the more interesting and complex places on the planet. It’s hard to sum up years of conflict, more than five million conflict-related deaths, thousands of displaced people, and the beauty of the country and its people in a few words.

Fighting in North Kivu Province of the DRC has displaced tens of thousands of Congolese. IDP camps and the local population currently host more than 100,000 people. This population influx would create a strain on resources under any circumstances, but has become a critical issue in the DRC where the IDP camps in the Goma area border Virunga National Park — one of the most important ecological sites on the African continent.

Virunga National Park is not only home to two of the earth’s most active volcanoes, the only mountain glaciers in Africa, and the almost extinct mountain gorilla, its forests are the major source of charcoal for the city of Goma. Charcoal is widely used as cooking fuel, and its production has been leading to a loss of forest cover for decades.

Last month, I had the chance to visit IDP camps where Mercy Corps is implementing an environmental program. What started as a fuel-efficient stove pilot project in 2007 has expanded to include firewood distributions, seedling nurseries, reforestation activities, and environmental education.

So far, Mercy Corps has provided fuel-efficient stoves to 20,000 displaced families. Rather than using charcoal, these stoves burn either wood or biomass briquettes and only needs half the cooking fuel required by traditional stoves. These stoves also emit less black carbon than traditional cooking methods.

Overall, the program has been a hit. Beneficiaries I spoke with were ecstatic about the cost and time savings they’re realizing. I met with several women and asked what they are doing with the money that they would have used otherwise on firewood. One woman told me that she’s able to buy more food for her family, another told me that she can afford to take her daughter to the health center when she falls ill.

Even in a country as complex as the Congo, it’s sometimes the simple things that make the biggest difference.

Source – ReliefWeb

Bangladesh – Indoor air pollution 4th leading risk factor for diseases

June 22, 2009 · 0 comments

Health and Family Welfare Minister Prof AFM Ruhal Haque has said necessary measures will be taken to reduce indoor air pollution (IAP) to minimise its dire impact on human body, preserve ecosystem and mitigate global warming.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of a workshop titled ‘Indoor Air Pollution’ organised jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and GTZ, a German agency for technical cooperation, at a city hotel yesterday.

“We have to take measures to mitigate climate change for our survival, and to preserve our local ecosystems by ensuring maximum utilisation of our natural resources,” the minister said.

Presenting the keynote paper Dr Joseph H Graziano, professor of Environment Health Science at Columbia University, said cooking by burning biomass like charcoal, wood, agricultural residue and cow dung is primarily responsible for IAP.

At least 20 percent of global warming is caused by IAP, he said, adding that it doubles the risk of pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, low birth weight and prenatal health outcomes.

Dr Joseph said it has been estimated that in developing countries IAP is the fourth leading risk factor contributing to various diseases.

“In the urban as well as rural areas of Bangladesh, the level of indoor air pollution is higher than outdoor air pollution,” he added.

Dr Joseph said GTZ has promoted an improved stove to reduce indoor air pollution and its associated health impacts at the household levels.

A better ventilation, which has been set in the improved stoves, is the replacement of traditional three-stone or shielded open-fire cooking, he added.

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ADB – New partnership aims to expand access to modern energy to 100m people by 2015

June 18, 2009 · 0 comments

New partnership aims to expand access to modern energy to 100m people by 2015
Source: Asian Development Bank, Jun. 17, 2009

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched an Energy for All Partnership that aims to provide access to modern energy to an additional 100 million people in the Asia-Pacific region by 2015.

More than 800 million people in the region have no access to energy, and nearly 1.8 billion people still rely on traditional biomass fuels to meet their cooking and heating needs. It’s estimated that more than 1.5 million people, mostly women and children, die every year because of the indoor air pollution from the use of biomass fuel.

“For households without energy, the benefits of access are immediate and life-changing,” said Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, ADB’s Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. “The benefits of modern energy extend across the spectrum of human development, from improved health, education, and social equality, to increased economic opportunity and higher agricultural productivity.’

The Energy for All Partnership was launched at ADB Headquarters in Manila during Clean Energy and Climate Week 2009, which aims to advance climate change and clean energy solutions in the region.

Ms. Schaefer-Preuss, speaking at the launch, said the Energy for All Partnership will emphasize low cost, environmentally friendly technologies and innovative financing mechanisms that will enable even the poorest households to gain access to energy. This will have a significant impact on all households, especially on women and children, particularly regarding their health security.

The Energy for All Partnership will support an initial phase of six working groups – on domestic biogas, solar lanterns, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), financing for energy services, energy enterprise development, and the Pacific region – that will design and implement programs in high-impact areas such as increasing microfinance lending for energy investments, or replicating business models for private sector service delivery.

The new partnership is funded by ADB’s Energy for All Initiative, a regional technical assistance program that is supported by the Government of the Netherlands and which promotes access to reliable, affordable, and clean energy for the poor.

The Energy for All Partnership is guided by a steering committee that brings together partners from business, governments, NGOs, and international organizations, and includes ADB, e8, E+Co, GVEP International, the National Electrification Administration of the Philippines, ReEx Capital Asia, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV) Netherlands Development Organisation, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. ADB will host the partnership’s secretariat for the next two years.

Christine Eibs-Singer, CEO of E+Co and co-chair of the Energy for All Partnership’s steering committee, emphasized the need for collaboration to yield greater impact. “Many organizations, from the multilateral to the local, are helping bring energy access to vulnerable communities,’ she said. ‘This partnership will leverage the work of partner organizations for greater impact and wider benefits.”

Source

India – World Bank shows interest in alcohol stove

June 18, 2009 · 1 comment

PUNE: The World Bank (WB) has shown interest in an innovative cooking stove developed by Phaltan-based Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). This stove runs on low-grade alcohol (country liquor) and produces light and heat.

This information was given by Anil Rajvanshi, director and honorary secretary of NARI, while delivering the B D Tilak memorial lecture on Energy: R&D for rural development’, at the National Chemical Laboratory here on Friday.

“The stove, developed by NARI, has been tested successfully. The World Bank has appreciated the idea of using low-grade alcohol as a domestic fuel and has asked the institute to share the findings of the test,” Rajvanshi said.

Since the WB is keen on conducting some more tests, it has asked NARI to send the stove, a cylinder, a suitable pressure cooker and low-grade alcohol, along with the readings of the tests conducted by NARI to the US, Rajvanshi said, adding, “However, NARI has requested WB officials to visit Phaltan as all the required equipment is ready and tests are already underway here.”

Rajvanshi said that though the light produced from the stove has moderate brightness, it also generates significant heat, which can be utilised for cooking. The stove could be a boon for villages that have zero or little availability of electricity.

“Kerosene-operated stoves are not good for the environment, but this stove does not have this shortcoming,” Rajvanshi stated. Unlike the conventional stove or electricity-operated stoves or those that run on biomass, the stove developed by NARI is efficient, eco-friendly, safe and easy to handle, he said.

Rajvanshi, however, added that the quality of low-grade-alcohol, which depends on the raw material used for producing it, is the only worrying factor for the project was. “As the material used for making alcohol varies, the chemical composition also differs with each batch of alcohol. We need to solve this problem,” Rajvanshi said.

He also emphasised on the need for combined effort by the government, private sector companies, research institutes and non-governmental organisations to find some solutions on problems in rural areas.

“Biomass and bagasse-based power generation equipment have huge potential in rural areas. There is a lot of scope for research and development and this can only be achieved when, both the private and public sectors join hands,” he said.

Source – Times of India

Kamapla firm wins environmental award for non-char biomass briquettes

June 18, 2009 · 0 comments

A Ugandan initiative bagged the prestigious Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. Kampala Jellitone Suppliers Ltd was recognized for Avoided Deforestation, supported by the Waterloo Foundation, for producing non-char biomass briquettes made from agricultural waste.

130 tons of briquettes sold every month reduce deforestation and saves about 6.1 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of briquettes used.

KJS was tapped for “transforming unwanted agricultural waste into a sustainable energy source.”

Processing of commercial crops generates large volumes of biomass residues including rice and peanut husks, coffee pulp and maize stalks.

KJS is a coffee processing business that recognized the potential for converting this waste into a clean fuel.

Market demand was so strong that they started producing and selling briquettes made from the residues along with improved stoves that burn the briquettes more cleanly and efficiently.

These products are now used by thousands of cooks throughout Uganda and the business is set to grow.

The company is currently selling about 130 tons of briquettes every month to 31 schools, universities and hospitals for cooking, and to five factories for producing heat.

Source – Blackstar News, June 12, 2009

BANGLADESH: Indoor air pollution kills thousands every year

June 18, 2009 · 0 comments

bangladesh-iapDHAKA, 18 June 2009 (IRIN) – Over 46,000 people die of acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in Bangladesh each year due to indoor air pollution (IAP), according to Andrew Trevett, acting country representative for the World Health Organization (WHO).

His findings and those of others set out at a workshop in Dhaka on 15 June revealed that 70 percent of IAP victims were children under five. Here are the other main findings:

• The risk of diseases like pneumonia, asthma, low birth weight, cardiovascular failure and tuberculosis among children doubles due to IAP.

• Cooking, heating with solid fuels on open fires or traditional stoves results in high levels of IAP.

• Some 4 percent of all diseases in Bangladesh can be attributed to IAP.

• IAP from burning wood, animal dung and other solid bio fuels is a major cause of ALRI.

• Over 92 percent of households in Bangladesh use solid bio fuel for cooking purposes, releasing toxic substances like carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and high levels of harmful particulate matter.

• Lack of proper ventilation in most kitchens contributes towards the heavy concentration of particulate matter indoors.

• The level of particulate matter inside a kitchen using solid bio fuel is 30-35 times more than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard.

• Women and children are particularly vulnerable as they spend most of their time indoors.

• Low-income groups are particularly vulnerable as they can only afford solid bio fuel.

• ALRI is responsible for 59 percent of all premature deaths among infants, mostly in Asia and Africa.

• In developing countries, respiratory infection caused by IAP accounts for 1.6-2 million deaths a year. Around one million of the dead are children.

• More than three billion people worldwide continue to depend on solid fuels like biomass fuels and coal for their daily energy needs (WHO).

• Ventilation could be one of the most important interventions to reduce the risk of indoor air pollution (Joseph Graziano, chairman of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Columbia University).

• Incomplete combustion of biomass emits powerful greenhouse gas pollutants including methane and carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change (Graziano).

• IAP is a leading threat to public health in South Asia, along with malnutrition and lack of safe drinking water (Graziano).

• Bringing about a change in the traditional cooking system would not be possible overnight, but is a priority (Health and Family Welfare Minister Rahul Huque).

• IAP is responsible for 2.7 percent of the global burden of disease (WHO).

Source – IRIN News

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