A newletter about cooking with low energy stoves in the third worlds.... HEDON Newsletter - August 2012

[dave andrews]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: HEDON Household Energy Network <he...@hedon.info>
Date: 1 September 2012 00:16
Subject: HEDON Newsletter - August 2012
To: tynin...@gmail.com

Welcome to the August issue of the HEDON newsletter

In this issue:

• HEDON features of the month
• Latest news from around the world
• Events
• Jobs
• Courses
• Offers
• Requests

HEDON features of the month

HEDON at the Small is… Festival

Come participate in our Energy Strategy Role-Play Workshop on Sunday September 2, and several other exciting events by various organisations throughout this weekend, at Practical Action and EWB-UK's annual Small is… Festival in Rugby, UK.

Contributions for Boiling Point 61

HEDON is seeking sponsors for the next issue on “Climate Change: Adaptation, Resilience and Energy Security”. To find out more on how you can benefit by contributing to the international practitioner's journal on household energy, get in touch with us at boilin...@hedon.info.

Research offer on understanding sustainable energy solutions

This is a call for organisations, especially those from developing countries, who wish to bid under a major new research offer on understanding sustainable energy solutions in developing countries. Applicants will need to complete an Expression of Interest form by 12:00 on Friday 28 September 2012.

News

Project Gaia's Harry Stokes Discusses Microdistillery Approach

Published: 15:27 UTC

In an interview by Brazilian socially-oriented distillery company Green Social Bioethanol, Harry Stokes of Project Gaia discusses the potential for small-scale ethanol production to meet urgent clean energy demand and improve living standards in the developing world.

A modern biomass stove testing lab in operation

Published: Wed 29 of Aug., 2012 10:05 UTC

Pollutant Emissions and Energy Efficiency under Controlled Conditions for Household Biomass Cookstoves and Implications for Metrics Useful in Setting International Test Standards.

Fuel briquettes from groundnut shells

Published: Fri 17 of Aug., 2012 12:14 UTC

In Gambia, Anthony Tabbal has established a business making fuel briquettes from groundnut shells. He was inspired to do this by his concern over deforestation in the country, with many trees being felled for firewood and charcoal making. With support from the Gambian Groundnut Company he obtains the waste shells for free, which enables him to keep the price of the briquettes down, costing less than charcoal while also being much cleaner and more efficient. This also helps him reduce the costs of fuel in his restaurant kitchen; cook Fatou Kamara also explains why she prefers to use the new fuel.

Rwanda to begin geothermal drilling

Published: Thu 16 of Aug., 2012 13:56 UTC

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 15 (UPI) — The Rwandan government announced that geothermal energy drilling will begin there in December.

These women’s stories tell the cookstoves story

Published: Mon 13 of Aug., 2012 09:43 UTC

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is honored to help tell the story of three women whose lives were changed for the better when they began using clean cookstoves.

Putting the cook before the stove: A user-centred approach to understanding household energy decision-making

Published: Tue 07 of Aug., 2012 10:04 UTC

Case study of Haryana State, northern India

An interview on Secretary Clinton's efforts regarding clean cookstoves

Published: Fri 27 of July, 2012 17:58 UTC

Kris Balderston says India will be a priority country for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as it accounts for about a quarter of deaths from issues related to cooking with traditional cookstoves.

Summary of Roundtable on Sustainable Energy and Access to Energy

Published: Wed 25 of July, 2012 13:40 UTC

A summary of the post-Rio+20 Roundtable held at the Overseas Development Institute on July 9, 2012, with participation from organisations including HEDON.

Bioenergy: so near, yet so far

Published: Tue 24 of July, 2012 10:55 UTC

Improving public understanding will go a long way in shaping policy on the use and adoption of bioenergy in India.

Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves July Newsletter

Published: Mon 23 of July, 2012 14:08 UTC

This month's newsletter covering the Alliance's activities, including Report from Rio, ISO standards for cookstoves and upcoming events.

Cleaner Hearths, Better Homes: New Stoves for India and the Developing World

Published: Tue 17 of July, 2012 08:17 UTC

This publication has a twofold goal: describing India’s best legacy improved biomass stove programs and recommending ways in which the international community can promote stoves that are commercially viable, convenient for users, and more energy efficient. To date, the effectiveness of many of the world’s stove programs has been hindered by their small scale. Even India’s best case examples faced serious challenges. But hard-learned lessons from these cases, combined with varied experience from stove programs around the world, can well serve the international development community’s efforts to address the energy problems faced by the poorest populations on our planet.

Eco-friendly natural rubber plantations can tap vast global funding

Published: Sun 15 of July, 2012 00:08 UTC

We have been talking about the eco-friendly credentials and carbon sequestration potential of natural rubber plantations, mostly in our own forums, for several years now (referring to The Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka). But little has been done until now to market the green image of natural rubber for tangible financial gains. With the adoption of afforestation and reforestation sinks for Clean Development Mechanism funding under the Kyoto Protocol, there is an opportunity to bring international funding into the natural plantation sector.

Demographic change and carbon dioxide emissions

Published: Sat 14 of July, 2012 23:01 UTC

Part of a set of papers on population and health, by Brian C O’Neill, Brant Liddle, Leiwen Jiang, Kirk R Smith, Shonali Pachauri, Michael Dalton, Regina Fuchs
The Lancet, Published online July 10, 2012

Killer cookstoves: Indoor smoke deadly in poor countries; cleaner stoves elusive

Published: Sat 14 of July, 2012 21:53 UTC

For 80-year-old grandmother Espirita Lima Bautista, breathing while cooking over her kitchen hearth is like inhaling the second-hand soot of 400 cigarettes. Exposure to this dangerous pollution began when she was a baby, slung in a blanket over her mother’s back in her village in Peru. Two decades ago, concerns about cooking fires centered on deforestation. Now research shows that cookstoves can kill people, too. Indoor smoke from coal, wood or dung ranks ahead of unsafe water as a cause of death in low-income countries. Almost 2 million deaths a year are caused by cooking smoke, which is linked to pneumonia in children, low birth weight babies and lung cancer. The United Nations and governments have vowed to put improved cookstoves in people's homes to clean up soot and greenhouse gases. The problem is that many newer models on the market actually make matters worse.

IFC Study Finds $37 Billion Opportunity for Improved Energy Services at the Base of the Pyramid

Published: Fri 06 of July, 2012 06:49 UTC

A new report from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has identified a $37 billion opportunity for the private sector to improve energy services for people who live in relative poverty.

SNV and FAO release Myanmar biogas feasibility study

Published: Tue 03 of July, 2012 14:20 UTC

In rural areas of Myanmar, over 90% of the people depend on biomass fuels, like firewood, for cooking. Women and children especially are exposed to harmful fumes in their kitchens when cooking with these fuels. The costs of biomass fuels or the time spend on fuel collection are becoming a substantial burden. More than 80% of the rural population does not have access to electricity.

Project Gaia June Newsletter

Published: Tue 03 of July, 2012 12:25 UTC

The June newsletter from Project Gaia featuring updates from Rio+20, the 2012 UN World Environment Day and Gaia's selection as a 2012 National Energy Globe Award Winner.

Coal plants: Filthy, dangerous, and now a terrible investment!

Published: Tue 03 of July, 2012 11:02 UTC

Justin Guay of the Sierra Club International is conducting a blog on the financial risks that coal plant investments face. This is a follow up to the organisation's publication: Locked-in The Financial Risks of New Coal-fired Power Plants in Today's Volatile International Coal Market.

Rio+20 Adopts “The Future We Want” Outcome Document, Voluntary Pledges Reported to Reach US$513 Billion

Published: Sat 30 of June, 2012 08:01 UTC

The third and final meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), Pre-Conference Informal Consultations Facilitated by the Host Country, and the UNCSD convened back-to-back in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13-22 June 2012. During their ten days in Rio, government delegations concluded negotiations on the Rio outcome document, titled “The Future We Want.”

Do Aid Projects Work? - Tiny sensors will now let us know in real time

Published: Mon 25 of June, 2012 22:08 UTC

Companies and NGOs spend millions of dollars outfitting people in the developing world with technologies to improve their lives. But do those water filters or new toilets actually make a difference? Instead of waiting for a follow-up study, we can now monitor their effects as they happen.

Events

Small is... Festival presents: Power to the People

Dates:
31 August - 2 September, 2012
Location:
Practical Action HQ, The Schumacher Centre, Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby, CV23 9QZ, UK

Solar Energy Africa

Date:
4 - 5 September 2012
Location:
CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

World Clean Technology Summit

Date:
26-28 September 2012
Location:
Kampala, Uganda

Global Clean Energy Innovation Showcase

Date:
2-3 October 2012
Location:
Hotel Arts Barcelona

1st International Conference and Exhibition on Off-Grid Renewable Energy

Date:
10 - 12 October 2012
Location:
Accra, Ghana

Training Opportunities: New Webinars; Finance Academies

Date:
15 July - 26 October 2012

3rd International Off-Grid Lighting Conference and Trade Fair

Date:
13-15 November 2012
Location:
Dakar, Senegal: King Fahd Palace Hotel

Jobs

BioLite seeking Director of R&D

End Date: Sun 14 of July, 2013

Cutting edge clean technology company is seeking a seasoned engineer or applied scientist to lead core systems development for home-energy products.

TITLE: Director, Research and Development

HOURS: Full-time

LOCATION: Brooklyn, New York

REPORTS TO: CPO

COMPENSATION: Salary is competitive with other early-stage startups, including benefits, bonus plan, and equity stock options.

IISD President and CEO Executive Search

End Date: Thu 25 of July, 2013

The International Institute for Sustainable Development is seeking to recruit its next President and Chief Executive Officer.

Courses

Online Diploma: Energy Projects & Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change

End Date: Mon 17 of Dec., 2012

Date:
4 September 2012 - 29 October 2012
Location:
Online, Global

Formulating Project Proposals for Climate Change Mitigation and Clean Energy

End Date: Tue 01 of Jan., 2013

An international course for the public and private sectors on clean energy access, environment and climate change projects.

Offers

Call for Expressions of Interest: Understanding Sustainable Energy Solutions in Developing Countries

End Date: Fri 28 of Sep., 2012

This is a call for expressions of interest from organisations, especially those from developing countries, who wish to bid under a major new research offer on understanding sustainable energy solutions in developing countries. Up to £12.5 million will be available and successful organisations will be invited to take part in a short development workshop in Nairobi, to refine the priority research challenges around energy in the context of international development and help facilitate collaborative bids.

Wood Stove Design Challenge

End Date: Thu 20 of Dec., 2012

The Wood Stove Design Challenge seeks innovative, next generation wood stoves that substantially improve the technology so households can more easily, cleanly and efficiently heat with cord wood.

Green Energy for a Billion Poor

End Date: Sun 24 of Feb., 2013

Author Nancy Wimmer, an entrepreneur, researcher and advisor to the World Council of Renewable Energy has released a book titled, "Green Energy for a Billion Poor: How Grameen Shakti Created a Winning Model for Social Business".

Requests

Cookstove design competition to help the women of Pakistan

End Date: Sat 15 of Sep., 2012

A competition to design a better way of cooking in Pakistan to avoid the enormous health risks of open fires and gradual deforestation in the region.

Call for Entries: Ashden Awards 2013

End Date: Tue 23 of Oct., 2012

The world’s leading green energy awards scheme is seeking entries for its 2013 Awards. The Ashden Awards uncover the most exciting sustainable energy enterprises from across the globe which are leading the way in increasing the poor’s access to energy and tackling climate change. Entry to the awards is free, with up to five winners to receive cash prizes of up to £40,000 at a prestigious ceremony in London in June 2013.

Gaia Association Requests Expressions of Interest for Procurement of Ethanol Microdistillery, Addis Ababa Ethiopia

End Date: Sun 24 of Mar., 2013

Funding from the World Bank has been received to demonstrate the feasibility of producing bioethanol on a small-scale to be used as cooking fuel. Gaia Association intends to apply part of the grant towards the procurement of a Ethanol Microdistillery

Request for quotations for MSI Biogas plant

End Date: Wed 03 of July, 2013

The Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) granted a research team from Makerere University a fund for its research project titled: “Rural Electrification in Uganda – Improving access to modern types of energy”. In this project, one of the pilot plants to be implemented consists of a Biogas digester for generation of electricity.

Request for partnership: Namalere Forest Conservation's energy saving project

End Date: Sat 10 of Aug., 2013

Project Title: Improved Cook Stoves by Thermoelectrics to Reduce Deforestation and Improve Quality of Life in western Kenya.

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