Reducing CVD Through Improvements in Household Energy

September 27, 2012 · 0 comments

Reducing CVD Through Improvements in Household Energy Implications for Policy-Relevant Research. (2012) Global Heart 7:3. 243-247.

Baumgartner J, Smith KR, Chockalingam A.

There is growing evidence of a wide range of health outcomes associated with HAP, including limited direct and indirect evidence of cardiovascular impacts where the largest change in relative risk seems to occur at the lower end of the exposure distribution. Reducing HAP emissions and exposures to levels that meet or exceed the WHO guidelines should be a high priority task for the cardiovascular and public health communities.

Other than the proven, but expensive alternatives of gas and electricity, there are a number of housing, energy, and behavioral interventions, ranging from improved insulation to ventilation to advanced combustion biomass stoves, but only a few at present show promise of reaching low pollution levels in large-scale dissemination still using solid fuels. Relatively little is known about their health benefits, particularly for cardiovascular outcomes, and even less is known about combinations of interventions that best meet the full energy needs of households.

Progress Report: Forging Ahead with the United States’ Commitment to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

September 26, 2012 · 0 comments

Progress Report: Forging Ahead with the United States’ Commitment to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. September 2012.

The U.S government has worked closely with the Alliance to promote a more efficient, effective cookstoves sector by making a variety of significant, targeted commitments. As of September 2012, the U.S. commitment to this sector as a partner to the Alliance is valued at up to $114 million over the first five years of the Alliance—a commitment that encompasses investments in research (e.g., health, technology, adoption, gender, climate), financing, and field implementation efforts to bring clean stoves and fuels to families. To date, more than 10 U.S. agencies have invested $45.36 million and all are on track to meet or exceed their original commitment.

Fact Sheet: The United States Commitment to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

September 26, 2012 · 0 comments

Fact Sheet: The United States Commitment to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves: Year Two Progress Report – Sept 25, 2012

In honor of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves’ second anniversary, the United States is pleased to announce that total investment in support of the Alliance and clean cookstoves has reached up to $114 million. This investment represents a nearly $10 million increase over the past year and will help the Alliance achieve its goal of enabling 100 million homes to adopt clean and efficient stoves and fuels by 2020. The new commitments target a wide range of work, including: climate and cookstoves research; expansion of existing health research to include cookstoves; investments in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Sudan; additional health evaluation efforts in Kenya and Guatemala; and small business funding. All U.S. federal agencies are meeting or exceeding their commitment to the Alliance. The six agencies that were part of the original U.S. commitment have invested over $35 million to date, meeting 70% of their original five-year, $50 million commitment.

The State Department, under the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, has undertaken a wide range of diplomatic activities to advance the Alliance and the cookstoves sector.

Key Second Year Accomplishments include:

  • Extended partnership with countries across the globe, including China, South Africa, Sweden, Afghanistan, Laos, and Mexico
  • Engaged with U.S. embassies abroad to support Alliance activities in priority countries
  • Developed strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants from cookstoves in collaboration with the new Climate and Clean Air Coalition
    Original 5-Year Commitment: $370,000
    Updated Commitment: $1.02 million
    Funding Allocated through Year 2 of the Alliance: $1.02 million

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that its Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) – a forerunner of the Alliance launched in 2002 – has been formally integrated into the Alliance, with particular focus on the PCIA network of 600 partner organizations. PCIA partners reported selling nearly 4 million cookstoves in 2011, improving the lives of 20 million people.

Key Second Year Accomplishments include:

  • Committed to award $3.5 million for research on the air quality and climatic benefits of interventions for cookstoves and residential burning
  • Led efforts to develop interim International Organization for Standardization guidelines for performance ratings of cookstoves for fuel use/efficiency, emissions, and safety
  • Launched state-of-the-art cookstove testing lab in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and undertook a third round of stove testing of 20 cooking technologies and fuels
  • Held field testing and stove performance workshops in Bangladesh and Uganda
    Original 5-Year Commitment: $6.0 million
    Updated Commitment[1]: $10.3 million
    Funding Allocated through Year 2 of the Alliance: $3.7 million

[click to continue…]

Bookmark and Share

A rapid assessment randomized-controlled trial of improved cookstoves in rural Ghana

September 25, 2012 · 0 comments

A rapid assessment randomized-controlled trial of improved cookstoves in rural Ghana. Energy for Sustainable Development, May 2012.

Jason Burwen, David I. Levine

We conducted a rapid assessment randomized-controlled trial to quantify changes in fuel use, exposure to smoke, and self-reported health attributable to deployment of an improved wood cookstove in the Upper West region of Ghana. Women trainers from neighboring villages taught participants to build an improved cookstove and demonstrated optimal cooking techniques on such stoves. Participants were then randomly assigned to construct improved stoves at their homes immediately (treatments) or in a few months (controls). Several weeks after the treatments built their new stoves, all participants engaged in a cooking test while wearing a carbon monoxide monitor. At that time we surveyed participants on cooking activity, fuel wood gathering, self-reported health, and socioeconomic status. At a subset of homes we also installed stove usage monitors on the improved and traditional stove for the following three weeks.

During the cooking tests, treatments used 5% less fuel wood than controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. There were no detectable reductions in a households’ weekly time gathering wood or in exposure to carbon monoxide. In contrast, there was a sharp decline in participants’ self-reported symptoms associated with cooking, such as burning eyes, and in respiratory symptoms, such as chest pain and a runny nose. Stove usage monitors show that treatments used their new stove on about half of the days monitored and reduced use of their old stoves by about 25%. When we returned to three of the villages eight months after project implementation, about half the improved stoves showed evidence of recent usage. Overall the new stoves were not successful, but the evaluation was. Our methods offer a rigorous modest-cost method for evaluating user uptake, field-based stove performance, and exposure to smoke.

Lusaka charcoal usage worry Mukanga

September 25, 2012 · 0 comments

Lusaka charcoal usage worries Mukanga | Source: Times of Zambia – Sept 25 2012

MINES, Energy and Water Development Minister Yamfwa Mukanga has bemoaned the high levels of charcoal consumption in Lusaka now estimated at K150 billion per annum.

It is for that reason that Mr Mukanga said his ministry valued innovations like the Bio-Char Briquettes production and marketing as a sustainable substitute to the uncontrolled charcoal production.

Mr Mukanga said this when he officiated at the launch of the training of trainers for Bio-Char Briquettes Production workshop at the University of Zambia’s Technology Development and Advisory Unit (TDAU) in Lusaka yesterday.

Mr Mukanga said the current rate of tree cutting in Zambia outstripped that of tree planting and natural tree regeneration, and that it was evident that the trend was unsustainable, warning that an energy crisis was imminent unless swift innovative interventions were undertaken.

He said just over 20 per cent of the Zambian households had direct connectivity to electricity, leaving nearly 80 per cent of the country’s population dependent on firewood and charcoal for cooking and heating, adding that the ratio was more skewed in rural areas with over three per cent having access to electricity.

[click to continue…]

Bookmark and Share

Factors affecting fuelwood consumption in household cookstoves

September 19, 2012 · 0 comments

Energy, Available online 14 September 2012

Factors affecting fuelwood consumption in household cookstoves in an isolated rural West African village

Nathan G. Johnson, Kenneth M. Bryden, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 1620 Howe Hall, Ames, IA 50011-2274, USA. Email:  kmbryden@iastate.edu

This study examines the factors that affect fuelwood consumption in cookstoves and estimates fuelwood consumption associated with the use of cookstoves in a rural isolated West African village with a population of 770. Five primary applications of cookstoves were identified: cooking meals, heating water for washing, roasting peanuts, making medicine, and steeping tea. Six factors were identified that significantly impacted cooking energy use: the type of cookstove application, family size, total mass of wet and dry ingredients, mass of dry ingredients, the use of burning embers as an igniter, and the number of fires used during a cooking event.

Annual village fuelwood use for all cookstove applications was 234 metric tons; cooking meals and heating water accounted for 65% and 27% of this fuelwood use, respectively. Fuelwood consumption per person was strongly linked with family size. As family size increased from five to 20 members, fuelwood consumption decreased from 20.6 MJ cap−1 day−1 to 10.5 MJ cap−1 day−1.

Integrated Evaluation of Smoke Exposure, Health Impacts and User Satisfaction

September 19, 2012 · 0 comments

Integrated Evaluation of Smoke Exposure, Health Impacts and User Satisfaction of an Improved Cookstove Intervention, 2012.

Alexander, Donee. Thesis (Ph.D.)–University of Washington, 2012.

To date, no standard questionnaire exists to evaluate respiratory health related to improved cookstove intervention, and few studies evaluating the health effects of indoor air pollution have conducted spirometry or blood pressure measurements in their assessment. Moreover, studies that have evaluated the associations between improved lung function and blood pressure, and cookstove interventions have yielded inconsistent results. Research has shown that improved biomass cookstoves with ventilation systems significantly reduce exposure to indoor air pollution. However, experience in community development has shown that improved technology does not guarantee usage.

Through an iterative process, this research sought to design a stove that met both technical criteria of efficiency and emissions and was well accepted by users. The study also evaluated the pulmonary and cardiovascular health effects of an improved cookstove technology on indigenous women living in rural Bolivia. Based on random home visits and post-intervention questionnaire responses, over 90% of users adopted the improved cookstove technology. Reductions of approximately 80% were seen for 24-hour mean CO and PM levels, as well as mean cooking and peak PM levels one year post-intervention.

Yanayo stove implementation resulted in significantly improved (lower) St. George’s Repiriatory Quality of Life (SGRQ) Total scores as well as Activity and Impact scores. Overall differences in pre- and post-intervention SGRQ Symptoms scores were not statistically significant. However, a number of individual question scores in this category were significantly lower in women post-implementation of the Yanayo stove.

Mean improvements of FEV1 from 1.95 L (± 0.6) to 2.15 L (± 0.7), p < 0.005 were seen post-intervention. Improvements in FVC and FEV1/FVC were also seen, but these changes were not significant. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased from 114.5 mm Hg (± 13) to 109.0 mm Hg (± 9), (p = 0.014). Decreases in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were also seen, but these changes were not significant. Decreases in SBP were correlated with 24-hour, mean kitchen PM levels (µg/m3) (R = 0.587, p = 0.035). Somewhat stronger correlations were found between reductions in cooking PM concentrations (µg/m3) and reductions in both SBP (R = 0.662, p = 0.014) and DBP (R = 0.658, p = 0.014).

This is the first study to observe significant improvements in lung function post implementation of an improved cookstove and the first to find associations between decreases in both 24-hour mean and mean cooking PM levels and decreases in SBP following an improved cookstove intervention.

COOKING FOR LIFE to expand access to safe cooking fuel to millions impacted by indoor air pollution

September 17, 2012 · 0 comments

WORLD LP GAS ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE EXPOSURE TO INDOOR AIR POLLUTION CAUSED BY TRADITIONAL COOKING FUELS

COOKING FOR LIFE to expand access to safe cooking fuel to millions impacted by indoor air pollution

Bali, Indonesia — The World LP Gas Association (WLPGA) today announced a five-year campaign to bring LP Gas, a clean, safe and efficient cooking fuel to developing countries where people are affected by indoor air pollution.

The campaign, kicked off at the World LP Gas Forum in Bali, brings together industry leaders, governments and NGOs to raise awareness and access to this advanced alternative to harmful and deadly traditional cooking fuels like wood and charcoal.

“We are thrilled to launch this important campaign. Indoor air pollution is a devastating problem yet completely preventable. LP Gas can save lives, help the environment and make sure millions breathe easy for the first time,” WLPGA president James Rockall said. “Cooking – a tradition meant to nurture and sustain – should not kill.”

Two million people die each year from illnesses brought on by indoor air pollution in developing countries. Indoor air pollution causes respiratory infections, pulmonary disease, lung cancer, malnutrition, low birth weight, and other conditions. It is the tenth leading cause of avoidable deaths worldwide and in environmental causes of death is second only to contaminated waterborne diseases.

As the authoritative voice for the global LP Gas industry, WLGPA created COOKING FOR LIFE to use its broad membership and influence to tackle this widespread problem that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson calls “the ultimate environmental justice issue.”

LP Gas comprises butane or propane and is generated as a co-product of natural gas and crude oil production. It requires no additional effort to produce and burns clean with lower greenhouse emissions than any other fossil fuel. It is transportable, storable and non-toxic.

COOKING FOR LIFE urges leaders in government, NGO and private sectors to create and implement programs to bring LP Gas to the people impacted by indoor air pollution.

Countries including Indonesia, Brazil, and India have proven that large-scale adoption of LP Gas in both rural and urban households is possible.

Goals for the campaign include demonstrating the benefits of LP Gas to policymakers, educating women about the convenience of using LP Gas as a cooking fuel and promoting the expansion of demand and usage in the developing world.

WLPGA is a member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private initiative led by the United Nations Foundation to raise awareness of options for clean cooking.

About The World LP Gas Association:

Established in 1987, the World LP Gas Association (WLPGA) is the authoritative voice of the LP Gas industry. WLPGA promotes the use of LP Gas worldwide to foster a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous world. Its mission is to inform and educate all stakeholders on the benefits of LP Gas, support the development of LP Gas markets, promote compliance with standards, good business and safety practices, and identify innovation in the industry. WLPGA currently has the Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.  www.worldlpgas.com/cooking-for-life

MEDIA CONTACT:
Giovanna Frank-Vitale
212-897-2076
gvitale@fenton.com

Pollutant Emissions and Energy Efficiency under Controlled Conditions for Household Biomass Cookstoves

September 17, 2012 · 1 comment

Env Sci Technol, Aug 2012

Pollutant Emissions and Energy Efficiency under Controlled Conditions for Household Biomass Cookstoves and Implications for Metrics Useful in Setting International Test Standards

James Jettera, et al.

Realistic metrics and methods for testing household biomass cookstoves are required to develop standards needed by international policy makers, donors, and investors. Application of consistent test practices allows emissions and energy efficiency performance to be benchmarked and enables meaningful comparisons among traditional and advanced stove types. In this study, twenty-two cookstoves burning six fuel types (wood, charcoal, pellets, corn cobs, rice hulls, and plant oil) at two fuel moisture levels were examined under laboratory-controlled operating conditions as outlined in the Water Boiling Test (WBT) protocol, Version 4. Pollutant emissions (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, total hydrocarbons, and ultrafine particles) were continuously monitored. Fine particle mass was measured gravimetrically for each WBT phase. Additional measurements included cookstove power, energy efficiency, and fuel use. Emission factors are given on the basis of fuel energy, cooking energy, fuel mass, time, and cooking task or activity. Based on these laboratory-controlled test results and observations, recommendations for developing potentially useful metrics for setting international standards are suggested.

Measuring Progress During Phase I: Building on the IWA Interim Guidelines

September 17, 2012 · 0 comments

Measuring Progress During Phase I: Building on the IWA Interim Guidelines, 2012.

Sumi Mehta and Ranyee Chiang. Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.

Excerpts:

  • Key Milestone: 100 million households adopt clean and efficient stoves and fuels by 2020
  • How Will We Measure Progress and Success?

Developing M&E Framework and Implementation Strategy for Phase I (2012 – 2014)

  • Define the Baseline
  • Identify Key Indicators to be Evaluated-Example: sales by emissions, efficiency, and safety tiers
  • Develop Measures of Progress
  • How will we actually measure indicators?
  • Identify capacity gaps to be filled, and strategies to fill them
  • Develop User friendly M&E Tools

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →