Wood stoves in poor countries worse than expected for global warming
mongabay.com
October 24, 2006



Wood stoves used in developing countries emit more harmful smoke particles and could have a much greater impact on global climate change than previously thought, according to research published in the Nov. 1 issue of the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology.

The study's lead authors, Dr. Tami Bond of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and graduate student Christoph Roden, estimate that some 400 million of these stoves are used on a daily basis for cooking and heating by more than 2 billion people.


A battery-operated sampling system measures emissions from a traditional wood stove in Honduras. The portable system, developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, found these stoves emit more harmful smoke particles and could have a much greater impact on global climate change than previously thought. Photo courtesy of Chris Roden.



Bond and Roden say that not only do the stoves produce two times more heat-absorbing smoke particles than expected, but they also contribute to health problems including eye infections and tuberculosis.

"Emissions from wood cook stoves affect the health of users -- especially of women and children -- neighborhood air quality, and global climate," said Bond. "Reducing these emissions, through the use of cleaner burning stoves and fuels, should have far-reaching benefits."

The researchers say that less polluting and more fuel efficient stoves could help improve health while fighting global warming.

"Designing and distributing improved cook stoves may be an effective method of mitigating global climate change, and can improve the health of the users," Roden said. "However, the cook stoves must be well designed and properly tested. They must be built with local traditions and practices in mind and must be easy to use, or they may become expensive doorstops."

Many carbon offset programs currently involve renewable energy cooking stoves in developing countries. Typically, people in industrialized countries can "offset" their personal emissions by contributing money to organizations that fund these programs.




This article is based on a news release from the American Chemical Society



Recommend this article? Comments?
Digg this article | Hugg this article | Contact

News options



News index | RSS | News Feed


Advertisements:


Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing


MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)

CONTENTS
Rainforests
Tropical Fish
News
Madagascar
Pictures
Kids' Site
Languages
TCS
T-shirts
Newsletter
About
Contact
Archives
Interns
Help


 
SUPPORT
Help support mongabay.com when you buy from Amazon.com



POPULAR PAGES
Rainforests
Rain forests
Amazon deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation stats
Why rainforests matter
Saving rainforests
Deforestation stats
Rainforest canopy

News
Most popular articles
Worth saving?
Forest conservation
Earth Day
Poverty alleviation
Cell phones in Africa
Seniors helping Africa
Saving orangutans in Borneo
Palm oil
Amazon palm oil
Future of the Amazon
Cane toads
Dubai environment
Investing to save rainforests
Visiting the rainforest
Defaunation
Blue lizard
Amazon fires
Extinction debate
Extinction crisis
Malaysian palm oil
Borneo

News topics
Amazon
Biofuels
Brazil
Carbon Finance
Climate Change
Deforestation
Energy
Happy-upbeat
Interviews
Oceans
Palm oil
Rainforests
Solutions
Wildlife
MORE TOPICS

Advertising by





T-SHIRTS

  • Madagascar Wildlife
  • Dancing lemurs
  • Don't fall asleep the sloths will eat you
  • Sucking on this frog may make you insane


    CALENDARS

  • Mount Kenya
  • East Africa Safari Wildlife
  • Kenya's Turkana People
  • Peru
  • African Wildlife
  • Alaska
  • China
  • Madagascar Chameleons


    CANVAS BAGS

  • Hallucinogenic frog bag
  • Madagascar wildlife bag







  • Copyright mongabay 2007