Photographer and development expert Len Abrams has put together a visually arresting slideshow and some insightful commentary on the state of African charcoal and deforestation.
Poverty
Can Haiti be the new Katrina?
What will it take?
What will it take to tip the scale in favor of a global crash program to swap out three-stones-and-a-pot for energy-efficient stoves, kilns, and sustainable alternative biofuels?
Will Haiti be to bioenergy what Katrina was to climate change?
How long before Al Gore, Angelina, or Bono take on bionergy as the next big inconvenient truth? The Charcoal Project’s intelligence services tell us there is already a film in the works. Will Bono embrace the rocket stove onstage to his fan’s delight?
Perhaps it will be the lure of a multi-billion dollar global market in carbon offsets from stoves, kilns, and briquettes programs that will do the trick. Or maybe it will be the on-the-ground realities of implementing REDD that will undo the Gordian knot.
And the point is…?
Actually, there are four points and they boil down to this: Continue reading
Haiti: A Chance to Get it Right
The horrendous destruction visited on Haiti last week has sparked a torrent of compassion from around the world. Even the bioenergy community has turned out to support the relief effort. But when the relief agencies move on to the next crisis and the last US marine has returned home, Haiti will still be an impoverished and broken country suffering the consequences of decades of profound social, economic, and environmental neglect. There is much talk of planning for the long term stability and growth of the nation. But any development aid and growth plans will take time to bear fruit. Even Continue reading
Is a charcoal crisis looming for Tanzania?
Tanzania figures prominently when you google the terms “Africa, charcoal, poverty, and environment.” The facts and figures I came across gave me pause. Tanzania burns one million tons of charcoal each year, which amounts to clearing more than 300 hectares (about 750 acres) of forest every day to produce charcoal. For context, that’s about 1,000 sq miles each year or the equivalent of about two New York Cities, including its five boroughs. Unfortunately, the rate of deforestation outstrips the replacement rate by about 3 to 1. That means that, for every acre planted, three are lost. What’s more, the number Continue reading
Is Copenhagen funding a global stove, kiln, and briquettes conversion program?
I can’t decide what to make of today’s announcement in Copenhagen heralding a new five-year program by industrialized nations to invest $350m in the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies in developing countries. On the surface this should be a cause of celebration. The big question is how will these funds will be spent? Here’s a hint, according to Climate Wire. Speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. climate conference here, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the new program — with an $85 million U.S. contribution — would help get energy-efficient appliances and lighting to the poorest nations, Continue reading