The Charcoal Project

Can a Tanzanian venture spark a briquette revolution in Africa?

Everyone knows that telling people to voluntarily use less fossil fuels because CO2 emissions are harming the planet is a very weak motivator. But tell them they can save money, even make money, if they switch to a sustainable alternative fuels, THEN they start paying attention. In some ways, that’s what a Tanzanian non-profit is asking the country’s producers and consumers of wood and charcoal fuels to do: take biomass waste, convert it to briquettes using a simple mechanical process, and, voila, you’ve got yourself a cleaner burning, more environmentally friendly fuel for personal consumption or sale! ARTI – Tanzania Continue reading

Madagascar’s vanishing biodiversity: “We’re all in,” says USAID

Via Surfbirds News — Twenty-five years of environmental assistance in Madagascar by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has achieved major progress in the biologically spectacular nation, but the gains are at critical risk of being reversed – and will likely be lost all together – if the international community continues to punish its government for the ongoing political situation.

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A kiln that boost crops, cuts CO2 emissions, and generate income? Now we’re talking!

A scrappy four year-old startup thinks it can improve the livelihood of the world’s energy poor by converting 6 billion tons of agricultural farm waste produced annually in developing countries into sustainable biomass fuel (like briquettes or biodiesel, for example) and biochar, a valuable soil additive that can dramatically boost a farmer’s crop yields.

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