This New York Times article, based on the IEA (International Energy Agency) latest World Energy Outlook, suggests humanity is on the downward slope of the oil availability curve. We’ve often wandered what analogies, if any, existed between the concepts of “peak oil” and “peak biomass.” After all, both the fossil fuel industry and the biomass […]
Peak Oil vs Peak Biomass: Are we there yet? Read More »
Kirk Smith, Ph.D., is probably the world’s leading authority on the public health impact of indoor air pollution caused by the incomplete combustion of biomass fuels for cooking and heating. His recent remarks help cast some light on what stakeholders can expect from the recent launch of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. We’ve borrowed
A Insider’s Perspective on the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Read More »
Speaking Tuesday at a briefing on Capitol Hill, EPA officials said that “black carbon” (BC), an important factor in global warming and major by-product of solid biomass fuel and dirty diesel emissions, would figure prominently in a International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report due out next year. BC emissions can also seriously affect the
IPCC to feature role of Black Carbon in next report Read More »
Dispatches from: Emerging Solutions for the Energy Poor. Technological, Entrepreneurial & Institutional Challenges NOVEMBER 5 and 6, 2010 Wittemyer Courtroom University of Colorado Law School Wolf Law Building 401 UCB, 2450 Kittredge Loop Boulder, CO 80309 USA The 2010 Conference is designed to be a sequel to the 2009 World Energy Justice Conference (WEJC 2009)
This issue of Lost Kittens brings a rich array of content drawn from the bounty of the internet. 1. Firing construction bricks can consume large quantities of woodfuel, especially if the kilns used are inefficiently designed. To address this problem, an architect working in Arabian Peninsula devised a brick-producing process that uses a chemical reactions
Lost Kittens for US Midterm Election Day Read More »
A simple yet poignant story about what lies ahead for some of the world’s most vulnerable people. At The Charcoal Project we don’t normally go for content that strays too far from our editorial mission. However, we decided that Evan Abramson’s short documentary film on the impact of Climate Change on the nomadic tribes that
Video: A powerful look at the impact of CC on E. Africa’s pastoral communities Read More »
Dear all, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for young NGO that is opening a wood-energy school in the Masai Mara with support from DANIDA (Danish foreign cooperation). They write: “We’re looking for suggestions of how we can get a knowledgeable individual who can lead a baseline study of biomass cooking demands in
Position: Consultant for local biomass cooking demand assessment in Masai Mara. Read More »
Briquette programs that deliver high quality sustainable, alternative solid biofuels exist in major cities in sub-Saharan Africa, but not nearly at the scale necessary to significantly alleviate pressure on the environment from wood and charcoal production. There is clearly lots of room for growth of these types of programs that can create jobs, empower women, and delivering environmental benefits to the larger community. Triple bottom line, anyone?
Rwandan widows and orphans launch breakthrough waste-to-energy program Read More »
What exactly is the cost to society when one million hectares (8,861 sq. miles, an area roughly the size of Costa Rica) of Brazilian rainforest disappears? The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) just released Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature, a report that aims to precisely answer that question. The report highlights government and business development
Putting a Price on Biodiversity Loss Read More »
If you’re thinking about investing in cookstoves, then this report is for you.
The report informs investors about the market potential of the clean energy industry serving India’s rural Base of the Pyramid (BoP) market, by looking at its opportunities, challenges, and potential paths to growth.
And, remember, India’s only part of the global pie.
You think the poor don’t have what it takes to start an economic wildfire? Think again. Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control gets in on the GACC action. Public Health Institute Award to Advance Clean Cookstove Technology OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 19 (AScribe Newswire) — The Public Health Institute (PHI) received notification it has been awarded a major grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) focused on implementing clean cookstove technology.
GACC yields 980K for clean cookstove implementation in Kenya, Guatemala, India Read More »
Is it just us or is public awareness finally turning its ADHD gaze on energy poverty? Was it Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the launch of the Global Alliance of Clean Cookstoves at the CGI the catalyst? Is the public finally connecting the dots between deforestation and a series of natural and human disasters? (See Haiti,
Hello, Houston? Is that blip on the radar screen actually energy poverty? Read More »
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