[Stoves] Fwd: from K Smith [stove] Smoked out: Coal and health

Sat Jun 8 18:55:28 CDT 2013

See comments below.

On Sat, Jun 8, 2013 at 8:51 PM, Paul Anderson <psanders at ilstu.edu> wrote:

>  Stovers,
>
> I have recently started to receive Kirk Smith's messages in his personal
> [stove] listserv.   Note that it is different from the [Stoves] listserv
> (capital S and plural s).  I wonder what messages I (and others) have
> missed in the past.   Of course, his focus is on health issues, which have
> not been sufficiently addressed in the Stoves Listserv.   Krik, is there an
> Archive of your previous messages?
>
> And who else is on BOTH the [stove] and [Stoves] listserv?
>
> (to Tom M. and Erin, how can we address this needed linkage?   I think
> that Dr. Smith is appropriately focused on "health + stoves" and does not
> need the full "everything + stoves" that is on the Stoves Listserv.   It is
> we Stovers who what his "health" element added into our "everything"
> medley. )
>
> I am forwarding Smith's message because it is certainly of interest to us
> Stovers.   And I add these comments:
>
> 1.  The item correctly names coal burning stoves as a problem.
>

It is quite problematic to introduce coal-burning stoves in an area that
has a lot of biomass. For example, the north of Vietnam has a lot of coal,
but it also has a lot of rice hulls and rice straw. To introduce
coal-burning stoves in the north of Vietnam is surely not the way to
proceed.

And remember that coal doesn't come out of the ground in a form that it can
be used in a stove or in any other apparatus. *It has to be prepared.* It
has to be prepared to such a degree that universities devote entire
departments to this endeavor: coal preparation departments. The cost to get
the coal out of the ground,m to reclaim the land from which it was
obtained, the cost to prepare and transport the coal - all of this is much,
much higher than making biomass pellets.

> But I will anticipate Crispin's rely by saying that I agree with Crispin
> that there are not bad fuels, just bad stoves.
>

Coal coming out of the ground is a really bad fuel. It has to be
extensively prepared to function in a stove. If fuels are prepared,
especially biomass fuels, it is so easy to design stoves around them. If we
go about designing stoves around bad fuels, we waste a lot of time.

>    And that the breakthroughs about improved coal burning stoves are just
> starting to become known and they need further research.
>
> 2.  Remember, there are many different types of coal, so look for
> successful clean burning for a specific stove with a specific type of coal,
> and celebrate and advocate that success, rather than dwell upon the
> NON-successes of other stoves with other types of coal.
>
> 3.  The GACC needs to embrace the coal stoves as well as the biomass
> stoves and the stoves that use "other" fuels like biogas, LPG, etc.
>

I am totally against the use of fossil fuels in areas where biomass is
readily available. Also keep in mind that it takes an enormous
infrastructure to get fossil fuels out of the ground and to put them in a
form that can be used within a stove. Since fossil fuels are non-renewable,
since they contribute to global warming, designing stoves that use them
should be our very last option.

Thanks.
Paul Olivier

>
> 4.  Crispin has experience with coal burning stoves in Mongolia.   Some
> are TLUDs.   Claims are that some are quite clean burning.   GETTING THIS
> INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO ALL OF US SHOULD BE ONE OF THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
> OF THE GACC AND ACESS.  GACC claims to be "stove neutral".   But it is not
> "stove agnostic".   Time for us all the be more knowledgeable about
> coal-burning stoves, and the GACC and ACESS represent us and have access to
> funding.
>
> Enjoy Kirk's book review.
>
> Paul
>
> Paul S. Anderson, PhD  aka "Dr TLUD"
> Email:  psanders at ilstu.edu   Skype: paultlud  Phone: +1-309-452-7072
> Website:  www.drtlud.com
>
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------  Subject: [stove] Smoked out: Coal and
> health  Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:03:10 -0700  From: Kirk R. Smith
> <krksmith at berkeley.edu> <krksmith at berkeley.edu>  To: Kirk R. Smith
> <Krksmith at berkeley.edu> <Krksmith at berkeley.edu>
>
> Part of a special issue of Lancet on China's health, June 8, 2013.  Note
> my emphasis on the household pollution from coal, which was missed by the
> book I reviewed/k
>
> [image: []]
>
>
>
>
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>

-- 
Paul A. Olivier PhD
26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong
Dalat
Vietnam

Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam)
Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam)
Skype address: Xpolivier
http://www.esrla.com/
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