Treehugger Tuesday: US Pledges $50M for Cookstoves

Photo from Adriana Lukas on Flickr

[Charles] In the news today there was a subject that we've talked about a little here on the TSM blog. Let's hope that this money is used wisely. Inefficient cookstoves are in use in millions of homes around the world where families and children are exposed to toxic soot that causes shortened lifespans to the users and environmental damage for the area. The research going into the area of efficient cookstoves is helping to cause less fuel to be used and to generate less soot in the process. Most homes in places like Ethiopia in the picture use an open fire to cook food and boil water. The women and children are most often the wood carriers and their bent backs show the strain of this daily job. Rapid deforestation which leads to erosion and floods is just one of the environmental problems from this practice. The recent NASA study discussed in Treehugger today also talks about soot and its effects on glacier melting and cloud formation. Check it out if you'd like more info. This is definitely something that needs more research and testing. It is one thing to spend money to build a better stove but it is still an uphill battle to have them accept it and use it.