Assessing the Climate Impacts of Cookstove Projects: Issues in Emissions Accounting

January 29, 2013 · 0 comments

Assessing the Climate Impacts of Cookstove Projects: Issues in Emissions Accounting, 2013.

C Lee, et al. Stockholm Environment Institute.

An estimated 2.6 billion people rely on traditional biomass for home cooking and heating, so improving the efficiency of household cookstoves could provide significant environmental, social and economic benefits. Some researchers have estimated that potential greenhouse gas emission reductions could exceed 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year. Carbon finance offers a policy mechanism for realizing some of this potential and could also bring improved monitoring to cookstove projects. However, there are formidable methodological challenges in estimating emission reductions.

This paper evaluates the quantification approaches to three key variables in calculating emission impacts: biomass fuel consumption, fraction of non-renewable biomass, and emission factors for fuel consumption. It
draws on a literature review as well as on interviews with technical experts and market actors, and identifies lessons learned and knowledge gaps.

Key research needs identified include development of additional default factors for biomass consumption for baseline stoves; refinement of monitoring approaches for cookstove use; broadened scope of emission factors
used for cookstoves; accounting for non-CO2 gases and black carbon; and refinement of estimates and approaches to considering emissions from bioenergy use across methodologies.

Impact of Locally-Produced, Ceramic Cookstoves on Respiratory Disease in Children in Rural Western Kenya

January 29, 2013 · 0 comments

Impact of Locally-Produced, Ceramic Cookstoves on Respiratory Disease in Children in Rural Western Kenya. Am Jnl Trop Med Hyg, Jan 2013.

Eric M. Foote, et al.

Household air pollution is a risk factor for pneumonia, the leading cause of death among children < 5 years of age. From 2008 to 2010, a Kenyan organization sold ∼2,500 ceramic cookstoves (upesi jiko) that produce less visible household smoke than 3-stone firepits. During a year-long observational study, we made 25 biweekly visits to 200 homes to determine stove use and observe signs of acute respiratory infection in children < 3 years of age.

Reported stove use included 3-stone firepit only (81.8%), upesi jiko only (15.7%), and both (2.3%). Lower, but not statistically significant, percentages of children in upesi jiko-using households than 3-stone firepit-using households had observed cough (1.3% versus 2.9%, rate ratio [RR] 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.22–1.03), pneumonia (0.9% versus 1.7%, RR 0.60, 95% CI: 0.24–1.48), and severe pneumonia (0.3% versus 0.6%, RR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.17–2.62). Upesi jiko use did not result in significantly lower pneumonia rates. Further research on the health impact of improved cookstoves is warranted.

Tackling the world’s forgotten killer – Kirk R. Smith, Special to CNN

January 22, 2013 · 0 comments

Tackling the world’s forgotten killer

  • By Kirk R. Smith, Special to CNN, January 18, 2013

“About the worst thing you can do is stick burning stuff in your mouth. Every year, tobacco kills more than six million people, according to the World health Organization. Including secondhand tobacco smoke affecting non-smokers, it is the chief cause of ill-health (measured as lost years of healthy life) among men globally and for everyone in North America and Western Europe.

The terrible disease burden imposed by tobacco is recognized by most people, but the risk of another form of smoke is also highlighted in the new “Global Burden of Disease” report released last Month in The Lancet – smoke from cooking fires. About 40 percent of the world still cooks with solid fuels, like wood and coal, in simple stoves that release substantial amounts of the same kinds of hazardous chemicals found in tobacco smoke directly into the household environment. Indeed, a typical wood cookfire emits 400 cigarettes worth of smoke an hour.”

See http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/18/tackling-the-worlds-forgotten-killer/ for the rest of the op-ed piece.

Community Driven Development of Rocket Stoves in Rural South Africa

January 22, 2013 · 0 comments

Community Driven Development of Rocket Stoves in Rural South Africa, 2012.

Anne de Chastonay, et al.

This article details the process of the implementation of collaboratively developed, clean cookstove technology in rural Limpopo Province of South Africa. The stove design drew heavily upon existing, open source knowledge regarding top light updraft wood fired stoves and suggestions from on the ground practitioners in South Africa. Implementation followed the model of community engagement that values community assets and adheres to a platform of mutual respect and reciprocity as part of the relationship.

The more than two year project evolved out of a more than a decade long series of personal, professional and institutional partnership between the students, faculty and community members from the University of Venda in South Africa and the University of Virginia in the U.S. The article not only details the design and build out phases of the affordable cookstoves, but also details the history and context of the collaborative student project.

Reduced lung function due to biomass smoke exposure in young adults in rural Nepal.

January 22, 2013 · 0 comments

Eur Respir J. 2013 Jan;41(1):25-30.

Reduced lung function due to biomass smoke exposure in young adults in rural Nepal.

Kurmi OP, Devereux GS, Smith WC, Semple S, Steiner MF, Simkhada P, Lam KB, Ayres JG.

University of Birmingham, Birmingham.

Abstract
This study aimed to assess the effects of biomass smoke exposure on lung function in a Nepalese population, addressing some of the methodological issues seen in previous studies. We carried out a cross-sectional study of adults in a population exposed to biomass smoke and a non-exposed population in Nepal. Questionnaire and lung function data were acquired along with direct measures of indoor and outdoor air quality.

Ventilatory function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC) was significantly reduced in the population using biomass across all age groups compared to the non-biomass-using population, even in the youngest (16-25 yrs) age group (mean FEV(1) (95% CI) 2.65 (2.57-2.73) versus 2.83 (2.74-2.91) L; p=0.004). Airflow obstruction was twice as common among biomass users compared with liquefied petroleum gas users (8.1% versus 3.6%; p<0.001), with similar patterns for males (7.4% versus 3.3%; p=0.022) and females (10.8% versus 3.8%; p<0.001), based on the lower limit of normal.

Smoking was a major risk factor for airflow obstruction, but biomass exposure added to the risk. Exposure to biomass smoke is associated with deficits in lung function, an effect that can be detected as early as the late teenage years. Biomass smoke and cigarette smoke have additive adverse effects on airflow obstruction in this setting.

USAID/India – Promoting Advanced Cook Stoves through a Sustainable Partnership

January 18, 2013 · 0 comments

Promoting Advanced Cook Stoves through a Sustainable Partnership between a Micro Finance Institution and a Syndicated Distribution Network, 2012. USAID/India.

Arunesh Singh, Suma Pathy. Market-based Partnerships for Health, Abt Associates

India has one of the highest incidences of indoor air pollution (IAP), which account for over 440,000 deaths per year. Open cook stoves are a major contributor to IAP. In India, the majority of those exposed to IAP are women and children. IAP is associated with health hazards such as childhood acute lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, perinatal mortality, low birth weight, and cataracts. Use of Advanced Cook Stoves (ACS) is one of the primary means to reduce IAP. These clean
cooking devices are designed to reduce smoke emissions and save fuel through better combustion.

The aim of the MBPH ACS initiative was to work in partnership with key stakeholders, including the Government of India (GOI), ACS manufacturers, micro-finance institutions (MFIs), rural distribution networks, scientists and sector experts towards a common vision of increasing adoption of and access to ACS. By the end of the project, the inputs provided by the MBPH ACS initiative paved the way for an in-depth understanding of consumer behaviour with respect to ACS, provided insights into attributes of a workable distribution model, laid out potential consumer financing options and created an enabling regulatory environment for enhanced private sector participation in the ACS industry.

Evaluation of interventions to reduce air pollution from biomass smoke on mortality

January 18, 2013 · 0 comments

Evaluation of interventions to reduce air pollution from biomass smoke on mortality in Launceston, Australia: retrospective analysis of daily mortality, 1994-2007. BMJ 2013; 346 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e8446 (Published 8 January 2013)

Fay H Johnston, et al.

Objective – To assess the effect of reductions in air pollution from biomass smoke on daily mortality.

Design – Age stratified time series analysis of daily mortality with Poisson regression models adjusted for the effects of temperature, humidity, day of week, respiratory epidemics, and secular mortality trends, applied to an intervention and control community.

Setting – Central Launceston, Australia, a town in which coordinated strategies were implemented to reduce pollution from wood smoke and central Hobart, a comparable city in which there were no specific air quality interventions.

Participants – 67 000 residents of central Launceston and 148 000 residents of central Hobart (at 2001 census).

Interventions – Community education campaigns, enforcement of environmental regulations, and a wood heater replacement programme to reduce ambient pollution from residential wood stoves started in the winter of 2001.

Main outcome measures – Changes in daily all cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality during the 6.5 year periods before and after June 2001 in Launceston and Hobart.

Results – Mean daily wintertime concentration of PM10 (particulate matter with particle size <10 µm diameter) fell from 44 µg/m3 during 1994-2000 to 27 µg/m3 during 2001-07 in Launceston. The period of improved air quality was associated with small non-significant reductions in annual mortality. In males the observed reductions in annual mortality were larger and significant for all cause (−11.4%, 95% confidence interval −19.2% to −2.9%; P=0.01), cardiovascular (−17.9%, −30.6% to −2.8%; P=0.02), and respiratory (−22.8%, −40.6% to 0.3%; P=0.05) mortality. In wintertime reductions in cardiovascular (−19.6%, −36.3% to 1.5%; P=0.06) and respiratory (−27.9%, −49.5% to 3.1%; P=0.07) mortality were of borderline significance (males and females combined). There were no significant changes in mortality in the control city of Hobart.

Conclusions – Decreased air pollution from ambient biomass smoke was associated with reduced annual mortality in males and with reduced cardiovascular and respiratory mortality during winter months.

Solar cooking in China

January 15, 2013 · 0 comments

SOLAR COOKING IN CHINA: A CDM Project, 2012.

Trish B. Sheehan. Solar Household Energy.

Impact – Annual monitoring data confirms successful adoption of the new technology. The cookers are in continuing use, averaging 9% higher use than projected, with tCO2e set to be 7,962,487, exceeding the predicted figure of 7,238,625.

Whilst fostering environmental awareness and good practice, the project has created local jobs and local tax revenue. This ensured critical government support. As noted by one local project partner, “Without government cooperation, even a project backed by the UN can amount to nothing but paperwork.” (Tianbi, 2011) At the local sales tax rate of 17% on total cooker sales of approximately US$22,924,000 ($12,232,00 current projects + $10,692,000 pending), potential tax revenue is substantial.

In addition to the documented adoption of the technology, participant feedback has been positive. Coal dependent households with average energy consumption of 1345 kgce7 have spent between 5 and 25% of their income on fuel (Gregory 2012, Jiang, 2004). Zhang Binglian, a farmer in Pengyang County, has a greatly reduced fuel bill and considers the solar cooker a “real blessing”. (Tianbi, 2011) Less money and time spent on cooking and cleaning blackened pots, mainly done by women, has allowed time and funds for other activities. Some income earning, such as tea growing.

The solar cooking projects have directly created jobs in product manufacturing, servicing, distribution, demonstration and monitoring of usage. Emissions saved in the registered projects equate to removal of 156,000 cars from the road with potentially a further 89,500 from the five projects pending registration.

Tanzania: Energy-Saving Stoves Benefit Muheza Villagers

January 15, 2013 · 0 comments

Tanzania: Energy-Saving Stoves Benefit Muheza Villagers | Tanzania Daily News, Jan 15, 2013

WHEN Khadija Mtungakoa was growing up, she had only one dream – to become a policewoman. But that did not happen as she did not go beyond Standard seven and subsequently went into subsistence farming.

After staying home for several years doing her little farming as a housewife, fortune came knocking on her way when she was invited by a friend to attend a course on making energy-saving stoves.

The training was organised by Tanzania Traditional Energy Development and Environmental Organisation’s (TaTEDO) In her village of Sakale in Muheza, they usually offered it free of charge but for it to take place, at least 20 people – with a bigger percentage being women – required to enrol.

The training took eight days and according to her, she was taught how to build and market the energy- saving stoves, skills that now earn the 36-year-old and her family their daily bread. Among the products that she has been installing in people’s homes and institutions are the rocket brick stoves.

[click to continue…]

Bookmark and Share

High Rates of Pneumonia in Children under Two Years of Age in a South East Asian Refugee Population

January 15, 2013 · 0 comments

High Rates of Pneumonia in Children under Two Years of Age in a South East Asian Refugee Population. PLoS ONE, Jan 8, 2013.

Claudia Turner, et al.

Background – There are an estimated 150 million episodes of childhood pneumonia per year, with 11–20 million hospital admissions and 1.575 million deaths. Refugee children are particularly vulnerable, with poorly defined pneumonia epidemiology.

Methods – We followed a birth cohort of 955 refugee infants, born over a one-year period, until two years of age. Clinical and radiographic pneumonia were diagnosed according to WHO criteria. Detailed characteristics were collected to determine risk factors for clinical, radiological and multiple episodes of pneumonia. Investigations were taken during a pneumonia episode to help determine or to infer an aetiological diagnosis.

Findings – The incidence of clinical pneumonia was 0.73 (95% CI 0.70–0.75) episodes per child year (/CY) and of radiological primary endpoint pneumonia (PEP) was 0.22/CY (95% CI 0.20–0.24). The incidence of pneumonia without severe signs was 0.50/CY (95% CI 0.48–0.53), severe pneumonia 0.15/CY (95% CI 0.13–0.17) and very severe pneumonia 0.06/CY (0.05–0.07). Virus was detected, from a nasopharyngeal aspirate, in 61.3% of episodes. A reduced volume of living space per person (IRR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99–1.0, p = 0.003) and young maternal age (IRR 1.59, 95% CI 1.12–2.27, p = 0.01) were risk factors for developing pneumonia. The risk of a child having >1 episode of pneumonia was increased by having a shorter distance to the next house (IRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.74–1.00, p = 0.04). Infants were at risk of having an episode of PEP if there was a shorter distance from stove to bed (IRR 0.89, 95% CI 0.80–0.99, p = 0.03). Raised CRP and neutrophil values were associated with PEP.

Conclusions – There was a high incidence of pneumonia in young children in this SE Asian refugee population. Viral infections were important, however CXR and non-specific marker findings suggested that bacteria may be involved in up to a third of cases.

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →