Dear John'n'All The main reason/attraction for improved stoves are usually economic: economic with time and money. That is why people want to use them. Saving forests or anything else is not usually high on the list of priorities.
When it comes to burning coal or freezing, it is a simple choice. John, we had two really interesting tests with lighting methods and I think it is worth your giving it a try. We found very lot particulate emissions during ignition, rising slowly until the CO/CO2 ratio reached 2% (on its way down, following ignition) then the PM dropped to nearly zero from then on. What was remarkable is that the PM level in the stack was lower than the outdoor air. The stove was cleaning the air of PM. Dang! In spite of this, the real decision to use or not use will be whether it saves fuel (thankfully it does) not other considerations first. We have been talking at planning meetings about how to promote stoves that satisfy our agendas and still meet the customers' as they do not have all that much in common. If the total emissions from your stove are lower than the emissions of the power station, not to mention the emissions produced by the construction of infrastructure needed to deliver the electricity, then by all means continue. It is possible. Pretty simple equation. Regards Crispin +++++++ Greetings, A couple of points from this article. Tami Bond pointed out that improved stoves are beneficial to the users and reduce the negative results of deforestation. This on it's own is enough proof to continue our work. While others work on those areas which are out of our control. And for those of us who are dependant on the burning of mineral coal, it is a plus all the way to continue with our work. I have 2 choices. Use electricity to heat my home or burn coal cleanly. The former burns about 3 times as much coal, and although very convenient, costs about twice as much, and the difference is going to increase as the electricity provider increases their tariff at about 30% a year for the foreseeable future. John Davies. -------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Stoves mailing list [email protected] http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_listserv.repp.org http://stoves.bioenergylists.org http://info.bioenergylists.org
