Technology Tuesdays: Clean Cooking

Hello Partners!

It’s Thanksgiving week, a time when we should take a moment to reflect and be thankful.  One thing, I am sure, most people are thankful for but probably take for granted is the ability to prepare meals in our home without posing a significant risk to their health or the health of their families.

Wait, how can cooking pose a health risk?

Well, it is the case for millions of people around the world that do not have access to electricity or the more than 3 billion people without the ability to prepare meals without the aid of dirty fuels and rudimentary cookstoves.  These dirty fuels can include things like raw coal and kerosene, which pose significant health risks when burned indoors with poor ventilation.  Indoor air pollution can cause illnesses like pneumonia, lung cancer, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  This is not exclusively an issue in other countries.  As many as half a million people in the U.S. suffer the effects of indoor air pollution due to poorly ventilated stoves.

The good news, there is something being done about this.  There is no magic answer that will fix the issue overnight however, there are organizations that have innovative ways to mobilize solutions and make them accessible to all people in need.  For example, there is the Clean Cooking Alliance.  One of their latest programs, the Venture Catalyst Program, mobilizes the collective efforts of 33 companies to improve access to clean cooking fuels and equipment.  These 33 companies range from distributors specializing in multi-product, last-mile logistics, microfinance institutions that provide microloans that are more accessible to lower-income populations, as well as distributed energy service companies that work to make alternative fuels available.

This program and others with similar missions are growing around the world. I am looking forward to seeing their continued progress in the coming years as this work not only helps improve all air quality but it helps to bridge the fuel and technology gap between us and some of our neighbors.

Keep an eye out for more ways to save!

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Sources:
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/05/29/clean-cooking-33-solutions-for-one-renewable-energy-problem/
https://www.cleancookingalliance.org/cooking-industry-catalyst/venture-catalyst/index.html
https://www.epa.gov/air-research/clean-cookstove-research