[Stoves] aluminium top plate
Lloyd Helferty
lhelferty at sympatico.ca
Sat Apr 9 00:52:43 CDT 2011
Thanks for the feedback Andrew,
This is the type of information that I would like to know (or at
least consider) before I attempt to rush into anything.
Just like with any attempt to market a "stove" (or biomass "BBQ" or
other "heating device" that makes Biochar) in North America, there are
many more complications (regulations) to overcome here than in many/most
of the "developing nations" -- which I think one could even argue is one
of the determinants that defines the difference between "developing" and
"developed" (i.e. the sophistication of the governmental system and its
regulations, rules and, especially, the enforcement mechanisms -- which
includes the ability of regional government offices to /*monitor and
enforce*/ environmental standards and/or the amount of /*corruption*/
within those same offices).
You are correct, of course, that there may be certain /*chemicals*/
that need to be taken into consideration, especially where the water
supply is contaminated by mining operations, whether they be trace
metals that result from Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), Heavy Metal
Contamination & Leaching, cyanide, sulphuric acid or simply excessive
sediment.
The point is that chronic illness from gastrointestinal (and
respiratory) diseases is /*much higher*/ within Aboriginal populations
in Canada, indicating both chronic /nutritional/ and */water-quality
problems/*.
A Health and Welfare study in Manitoba, for instance, found that
Aboriginals were /*four times*/ more likely to be hospitalized for
infectious or parasitic disease and /*twice as likely*/ to be
hospitalized for gastrointestinal infections (even though the rate for
cancer was lower).
A study by S.L. Harper
<http://dspace.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10214/2023/Harper%20Complete%20Thesis_final.pdf?sequence=1>
at the University of Guelph in 2009 found that "/*Climate change is
expected to cause changes in precipitation and runoff patterns, likely
increasing the risk of waterborne infectious disease in some areas.*/"
The problem is that there are gaps in Aboriginal health statistics
and research, so it is difficult to study Aboriginal-specific health
trends. In Canada, ~30-50% of Aboriginal communities are /*only
accessible by air*/, and so the remote location of these communities
often limits access to health care in the first place, and this also
compromises the ability to collect adequate data on community health, so
some of the health information captured by national databases and
registries is thought to substantially _under-estimate_ true rates of
Aboriginal disease.
In Canada, public concerns about drinking water quality were
elevated by a major waterborne outbreak of two pathogens (E. coli
O157:H7 and Campylobacter) that occurred in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000.
There are few published studies that focus on safe drinking water in
Aboriginal communities even though there are anecdotal reports that they
have experienced many more water problems than others in Canada. Note
that Aboriginals are /*90 times*/ less likely to have access to piped
water than non-Aboriginal Canadians and access to /*safe*/ piped water
is still problematic in the few Aboriginal communities that have piped
water.
Of course, in Canada, "/*Boil Water Advisories*/" (BWA) are actually
_very common_, even outside of First Nations communities and reserves.
A study in May , 2008 by the /*Canadian Medical Association*/ found that
there were more than 1760 provincial boil-water advisories in effect in
communities and neighbourhoods across Canada. (In the south, boil-water
advisories are normally issued for reasons ranging from adverse taste to
high coliform count to a breakdown in chlorination equipment, but are
generally taken care of rather quickly in comparison to the remote
communities. The issue also comes down to cost. If a system is not part
of a municipal infrastructure, many people are loath to pay to improve
treatment.)
There is actually a nice service we have here in Canada that shows
the current number of BWAs in communities across Canada on an online
Map: http://www.water.ca/map-graphic.asp (The "/*National Water Advisory
Map*/")
Click on any province (the yellow circle) and you will get a Google
Map that shows the current BWAs in effect.
It is a nice graphic that highlights just how prevalent the problem
is in Canada -- you will notice the number of Northern and remote
communities with BWAs is rather substantial, and although the number in
the south is just as high (or higher), these problems [in southern
communities] are generally taken care of (by municipalities) in short
order, while the ones in the North may be under the advisory for /*years*/.
One recent review reported that over 25% of available drinking water
in Inuit communities was not considered suitable for drinking.
Aboriginal communities report a very high frequency (relative to their
population) and *long durations* of BWA.
BWAs are meant to be "temporary" measures to protect the public’s
health against waterborne illnesses, but BWAs in Aboriginal communities
are not always temporary and indicate some underlying problems that are
not being resolved.
One study found a total of *127 boil water advisories* were issued,
and the median duration of /un-revoked/ BWAs was /*three years */on
Northwest Ontario Aboriginal reserves, between 2002 and 2007 -- and as
of Feb. 29, 2008, there were boil-water advisories in place in 93 First
Nations communities. (Right now there are a total of 94 BWAs across the
entire province.) Three of these communities had un-revoked BWAs that
were over/*six years old*/, which led to some residents consuming
un-boiled water despite the advisory.
As a result, Inuit infant mortality rates are more than twice as high
as average Canadians, Aboriginal post-neonatal mortality rates are up to
5 times higher, and life expectancies are the shortest of all Canadians.
Another study in Manitoba found that the incidence of /shigellosis/ (an
acute bacterial infection of the lining of the intestines) was 29 times
higher on First Nations reserves than other areas in the province.
The issue about "privatization of water treatment and distribution"
comes mostly from the /*Council of Canadians*/, but also from the
/*Federation of Canadian Municipalities*/ and /*Sierra Club*/ and
others. It has a lot more to do with the rules under NAFTA than it has
to do with any kind of ideological stance against privately run water
systems (although there are definitely some arguments that can be made
against it***). Some locally-owned private water systems will likely
work well for some communities.
(The problem can come when the /*international water corporations*/
(like Suez, Veolia or RWE) come in and take control of the local water
systems, thus possibly removing local control over the water resources
themselves -- which could affect these "water rights"...)
***P.S. you say that privately run water systems "are not uncommon in
the developing world".
This may be true, but they don't always work well to provide for people.
A report from Columbia university, for instance, says that (for a number
of reasons),
"/it is not entirely clear that the provision of water services is
a suitable market for private companies. Nor is it apparent that
privatization is the correct prescription to cure developing
countries water woes./"
http://www.columbia.edu/~ts2392/files/Foshee_et_al_Hydrology_Paper.pdf
<http://www.columbia.edu/%7Ets2392/files/Foshee_et_al_Hydrology_Paper.pdf>
Thus, I think that it is debatable whether privately run water
systems are the answer in either the developing or the developed world.
(With private companies, there is definitely a strong issue that
/*profits*/ are valued over /*public good*/...)
Lloyd Helferty, Engineering Technologist
Principal, Biochar Consulting (Canada)
www.biochar-consulting.ca
603-48 Suncrest Blvd, Thornhill, ON, Canada
905-707-8754; 647-886-8754 (cell)
Skype: lloyd.helferty
Steering Committee member, Canadian Biochar Initiative
President, Co-founder& CBI Liaison, Biochar-Ontario
Advisory Committee Member, IBI
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1404717
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42237506675
http://groups.google.com/group/biochar-ontario
http://www.meetup.com/biocharontario/
http://grassrootsintelligence.blogspot.com
www.biochar.ca
Biochar Offsets Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2446475
"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but innovators need to address problems before they become absolute necessities..."
On 2011-04-08 5:45 PM, Andrew C. Parker wrote:
> Lloyd,
>
> Depending on Canada's regulatory burden, the Jompy may or may not meet
> requirements. Making water safe to drink often requires far more than
> simply sterilizing it. EPA regulations in the US require that
> culinary water not exceed maximum allowed concentrations for a
> multitude of chemicals and minerals. To comply, water companies
> (public or private, profit or non-profit) must use filtration/reverse
> osmosis (a Canadian company markets an excellent municipal water
> treatment system), distillation, and/or mixing.
>
> I have trouble seeing the demon in privatization of water treatment
> and distribution. Water may be "free" but collection, treatment and
> distribution of free water, and the subsequent collection, treatment
> and release of sewage, costs somebody money and it must be reimbursed.
>
> I recognize that water rights may present complications. If First
> Nations already hold water rights, they certainly ought to maintain
> them, however, there should be a structure that would be acceptable to
> a company willing to simply treat and distribute water. Such
> structures are not uncommon in the developing world.
>
>
> Andrew Parker
>
>
> On Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:20:14 -0600, Lloyd Helferty
> <lhelferty at sympatico.ca> wrote:
>
>> Crispin,
>>
>> It's easy enough to create a*"short and hot" flame* from a biomass
>> gasifier.
>> It was recently demonstrated for us in Illinois by Hugh McLaughlin
>> using one of his TinCan TLUD's (see photo).
>> (Note: With very simple device made out of tin cans, which
>> was/fan-powered/, the flame was very hot, but no more than an inch or so
>> tall...)
>>
>> P.S. I am hoping to help get devices like the Jompy into Canada --
>> especially for our many isolated Northern communities (First Nations**),
>> who continue to deal with many water issues.
>> (We might wish to discuss this further sometime.)
>>
>> ** As highlighted by the /*Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs*/,
>>
>> “The lack of safe drinking water to First Nation communities is
>> not caused by a lack of regulations. The lack of safe drinking water
>> is cause by a*lack of infrastructure, financial resources and
>> technical expertise* to ensure the safety of the water supply.”
>>
>>
>> P.S. There is even a Proposed /*Safe Drinking Water for First Nations
>> Act*/ (Bill S-11) before parliament right now.
>> http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/enr/wtr/esp/bll-eng.asp
>>
>> The proposed legislation also addresses recommendations made by the
>> /*Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development*/ (Office of
>> the Auditor General), the /*Expert Panel on Safe Drinking Water for
>> First Nations*/, and the /*Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal
>> Peoples*/.
>>
>> The/*Expert Panel on Safe Drinking Water for First Nations*/,
>> established in June 2006, was one of the principal components of the
>> federal government’s March 2006 /*Plan of Action for Drinking Water in
>> First Nations Communities*/. The Panel held a series of public hearings
>> across Canada throughout the summer of 2006 and tabled its report in
>> November 2006.
>>
>> Following the introduction of Bill S-11, the /*Assembly of First
>> Nations*/ issued a press release stating that the proposed legislation
>> "/will *not* meet the objective of ensuring First Nations have access to
>> safe drinking water/".
>> The /*Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development*/ already
>> defines "priority communities" as those communities that have both
>> /*high-risk drinking water systems*/ and a /drinking water advisory/.
>> (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is just concluding a
>> _national assessment of First Nation water and sanitation systems_,
>> which will be released soon...)
>>
>> The Bill has gone through 2nd Reading in the House of Commons and
>> their last meeting was March 9, 2011, but now that there is an election
>> everything is on hold. They still have to come up with a Committee
>> Report and the Report has to go through Presentation and Debate(s)
>> before going through a 3rd Reading before the Act comes into force,
>> which will likely be well /after the election/.
>>
>> My hope is that with the introduction of devices like the Jompy that
>> we can help to */prevent/ the privatization of water infrastructure in
>> First Nation communities* by Governments that are intent on finding
>> "solutions" but don't have the budgets to build major water
>> infrastructure in all of these remote communities of the North,
>> especially given the constrained budgets of /all/ Governments (and
>> communities) right now.
>> (Note: The existing legislation essentially allows for "a private,
>> for-profit entity to build, operate and/or manage its water and
>> wastewater services" in First Nation communities.)
>> see: http://canadians.org/water/documents/FN/Bill-S11.pdf
>>
>> *Risk of Water Privatization in First Nation Communities*
>> Subsection 4. (1)(c)(iii) states that “regulations may confer on any
>> person or body the power, exercisable in specified circumstances and
>> subject to specified conditions, to require a first nation to enter
>> into an agreement for the management of its drinking water system or
>> waste water system in cooperation with a third party.”
>>
>> We are extremely concerned that this clause could open the door to
>> water privatization in First Nation communities. This subsection
>> provides the Canadian government with the power to force a First
>> Nation community to allow a private, for-profit entity to build,
>> operate and/or manage its water and wastewater services. To be clear
>> this clause alone does not guarantee the privatization of water and
>> wastewater services in First Nation communities. However, given
>> the/*lack of funding commitments in Bill S-11*/, this clause
>> facilitates water privatization on reserves.
>> Given federal financing trends and the negotiation of a trade
>> agreement between Canada and the European Union, it is possible that
>> the operationalization of this clause in the current economic and
>> political context will lead privatization in some First Nation
>> communities.
>>
>> Canada is an enigma. We are considered a "first world" nation, yet *the
>> social, economic, and demographic characteristics* of remote /*Inuit,
>> Aboriginal and First Nations communities*/ in Canada often *mirror those
>> in /developing nations/*.
>>
>> These remote, Northern communities are often challenged by limited
>> access to health services, low socio-economic status, high unemployment,
>> crowded and poor-quality housing, low educational achievement, and in
>> particular, concerns regarding basic services such as *drinking water
>> quality and sanitation*.
>>
>> Multiple Canadian Government agencies are tasked with looking after
>> the people of the North. These include "*Indian and Northern Affairs
>> Canada*", "*Health Canada*" and the "*Public Health Agency of Canada*",
>> among others (yes, Canada does have /*two [2] _separate and autonomous_
>> Health Agencies*/... see: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca
>> <http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/> and http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca
>> <http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/>).
>>
>> It is now understood that conventional technologies for drinking
>> water treatment are no longer considered adequate for ensuring the
>> delivery of potable water to the communities of Northern Canada. This is
>> particularly true in smaller, more remote communities, where the
>> infrastructure for *treatment of* both *drinking water* and
>> *wastewater*** is often limited and can be /*very expensive*/.
>>
>> **Note: *Wastewater treatment solutions* for the North could also
>> include technologies like /*Biochar Composting Toilets*/...
>>
>> "Source water protection" is a relatively new concept for these
>> communities, and is NOT helped by the fact that most of the /*extractive
>> industries*/ [i.e. *mining*] is done in the North, and is very loosely
>> regulated, if at all.
>> (Most mining laws and policies in Canada do not allow for local
>> populations to consent (or not) to mining projects that will affect
>> their communities and environment. see:
>> http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/EI/papers/Lapointe.pdf)
>>
>> Thus, most of the Indigenous communities in Canada’s North have some
>> kind of */problems with drinking water quality /*that will continue to
>> be experienced in the communities of Northern Canada for years (and
>> perhaps decades to come -- as a result of the legacy of /*toxic waste
>> disposal*/), which highlights the need for*simple and inexpensive clean
>> water technologies* as a "back up" to the local water treatment systems
>> in these communities, since /centralized water treatment/ alone cannot
>> be relied upon to protect human health.
>> (The residents of at hundreds of aboriginal reserves must boil their
>> water before it is safe to drink.
>> http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2008/04/07/boil-advisory.html)
>>
>> "Ninety people in Canada die and another *90,000* get sick from
>> drinking contaminated water each year."
>>
>> Some reserves have been under */boil-water advisories/* for _years_.
>> Amazingly, Canada does not have national drinking water quality
>> standards.
>>
>> A recent paper released by the */Sierra Legal Defence Fund/* reported
>> "/major drinking water concerns in First Nations communities and all
>> northern regions where drinking water treatment technologies are often
>> inadequate or poorly maintained/".
>>
>> Compounding the difficulties in protecting sources of drinking water
>> is the reality that wastewater treatment systems that work in the south
>> are often /*not appropriate for use in the far north*/. (Wastewater in
>> the North is presently discharged to lagoons or natural wetlands that
>> are often _/frozen/_ for much of the year.)
>>
>> The people of the North are in need of simple technological solutions
>> for the treatment of drinking water, which could become an important
>> tool for ensuring outbreaks of disease in these communities does not
>> recur due to contaminated drinking water issues.
>>
>> Any drinking water treatment technology that is used must also be
>> easily adopted by northern (Indigenous) communities (in order to ensure
>> long-term sustainability).
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Lloyd Helferty, Engineering Technologist
>> Principal, Biochar Consulting (Canada)
>> www.biochar-consulting.ca
>> 603-48 Suncrest Blvd, Thornhill, ON, Canada
>> 905-707-8754; 647-886-8754 (cell)
>> Skype: lloyd.helferty
>> Steering Committee member, Canadian Biochar Initiative
>> President, Co-founder& CBI Liaison, Biochar-Ontario
>> Advisory Committee Member, IBI
>> http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1404717
>> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42237506675
>> http://groups.google.com/group/biochar-ontario
>> http://www.meetup.com/biocharontario/
>> http://grassrootsintelligence.blogspot.com
>> www.biochar.ca
>>
>> Biochar Offsets Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2446475
>> "Necessity may be the mother of invention, but innovators need to
>> address problems before they become absolute necessities..."
>>
>>
>> On 2011-04-08 3:55 AM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott wrote:
>>> Dear Christa
>>>
>>> Good to hear from you.
>>>
>>> I wondered what Marlis was up to in the highlands.
>>>
>>> Still looking forward to making my first trip to Madagascar.
>>>
>>>> the Swiss NGO ADES ran with the idea and started making pot
>>>> supports in 2009, but I only saw the first stove in Switzerland
>>>> last year (see photos). I don't know the cost but it is affordable.
>>> This looks like a great way to create a tapered gas space under the
>>> pot. If you remember the guy with the water heating coil (Jompy,
>>> UK?)...there is a guy Werner Schultz in Namibia making stoves for
>>> his staff that have a coiled pipe inside the stove body. Such a pipe
>>> could be cast into a stove top like the one in you photo, sort of a
>>> combination of the two ideas. Werner uses copper pipe.
>>>
>>> So let's give it shot in a few countries.
>>>
>>>> and I like Crispins idea to cast different pots.
>>> I think Dale would be please to see his work verified in a real
>>> product. If recasting a pot saves 15 or 25% of the fuel, or just
>>> makes cooking faster, that would be a quick and reliable
>>> improvement. Once the idea caught on all future pots would have
>>> fins. I saw a finned wok somewhere - I think at an ETHOS meeting
>>> (?). Clearly would help with a gas/biogas cooker, probably gasifiers
>>> too if the flame is short and hot.
>>>
>>> Paul, I know you're listening!
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Crispin in Toronto
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Let us know how things go. It might be easier to getting the pots
>>> adopted than some stoves...
>>> regards Christa
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Stoves mailing list
>
>
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