Greetings all,
Rajan wrote :
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More clarity comes when we look at the larger picture of life.
It is not just about food, fuel or anything in particular. It is just
about LIFE - the largest picture.
Money is definitely needed to survive ( with minimum comforts ). But money
is not the final word.
LIFE is much larger.
____________________________________
Well said, something to shake us back to the reality of life, and what
improved stoves are all about.
On fuels, I would like to share some thoughts.
As Crispin always says, It is bad combustion that is the major source of
smoke and other pollutants, and bearing this in mind I put forward the
following.
Charcoal is not necessarily non sustainable and wasteful, provided that the
energy released during the manufacture is utilized positively. and the
distribution infrastructure costs are economical. Good stoves and
manufacturing techniques can therefore greatly reduce the usage of the
resource as well as the health risks.
Coal is often the only affordable fuel to large sections of the poor
population, especially in places like Mongolia and central South Africa, we
cannot change that. I am not saying that it is sustainable, but the usage
can be cut by half, and the pollution by a major portion, provided that it
is correctly combusted. Good stoves can therefore greatly increase the
sustainable lifetime of the resource and reduce the Carbon footprint, as
well as the health risks.
Biomass is the only true sustainable fuel , but not available to all. The
area where most work is being done, and rightly so. New utilization methods
continue to be developed increasing the fuel pool. It is gratifying to see
new stoves being developed to cleanly burn biomass that was previously found
to be unsuitable as a stove fuel.
Petroleum fuel stoves are more or less well developed and clean burning,
with safety issues being addressed by governments to a large scale. Not much
that we can do to improve the sustainability or Carbon footprint.
This brings us to the areas where we can make a difference, namely the first
3 fuels. Fortunately there are many of us working towards the goal of
improving " LIFE " for people and the planet in these areas. Some of us in
our free time and for others a mission of their lives. I likewise agree
with Crispin that none of us are becoming wealthy as a result of our work.
But that we are making a difference, be it large or small.
Keep up the good work, striving to improve life, and not saying that the
other is wrong or misguided, but supporting each other in making a
difference. Our aim is to reduce waste in all forms and promote good
combustion, with reduced health risks.
Keep up the good work,
John Davies.
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