[Stoves] Off-topic news: Uni of Iowa hosts conference to save millions of lives globally

Ronal W. Larson rongretlarson at comcast.net
Sat Apr 8 00:26:59 CDT 2017


List,  cc Nikhil (and Crispin because it seems this was intended for him primarily)

	1.  This conference seems one I am now likely to attend.   I especially want to hear Kirk Smith.  This is a non-fee conference.  I see no justification for this thread being labeled “off-topic”.

	2.  The reason is not because of the conference notice that Nikhil sent on the 5th.  Rather it is the statement on the Conference page (https://now.uiowa.edu/2017/04/ui-hosts-conference-save-millions-lives-globally <https://now.uiowa.edu/2017/04/ui-hosts-conference-save-millions-lives-globally>) mentioning a recent paper by the same UI staff putting on this conference - 

to be found at
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X15309566 <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X15309566>  

Elsevier,  World Development,  Volume 92 <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0305750X/92/supp/C>, April 2017, Pages 13–27

Why Have Improved Cook-Stove Initiatives in India Failed?
MEENA KHANDELWAL a, MATTHEW E. HILL JR. a, PAUL GREENOUGH a, JERRY ANTHONY a, MISHA QUILL b, MARC LINDERMAN a and H.S. UDAYKUMAR a,* 

a University of Iowa, USA,  b Cornell College, USA

Summary. — An estimated 2.7 billion people cook meals on biomass-fueled brick, stone, and clay stoves. Scarcity of wood and negative impacts on health and environment have motivated efforts to design and distribute ‘‘improved” cook-stoves in developing countries. In India, adoption is limited despite massive promotion over many decades. Existing research suggests that many rural women in India do not want improved stoves, and those who do face obstacles to adoption. We step back from the many good case studies to examine the broader story of improved cook-stoves (ICs) in India. We do so by bringing together technical research of applied science and narrative critique of social science. Rather than assuming a priori that traditional stoves require replacement, we ask why Indian cook-stoves been a magnet for so much attention, why adoptions rates have remained low, and what lessons might be learned from a broad, multi- disciplinary perspective. Our approach is critical and reflexive, given our own involvement in IC efforts, and puts gender at the center. Our ‘‘big picture” review shows that the Indian chulha, for all its problems, is a remarkably successful technology which also satisfies several important household needs. Hence, targeting this device for obsolescence has profound implications that cannot be reduced to energy consumption or environmental hazards. Rural women do not prioritize ICs, but addressing their priorities requires either capital- intensive investment or challenging powerful institutions. In contrast, IC interventions are relatively cheap, decentralized, mechanical and seemingly apolitical, hence their popularity in development programs. Our review of chulha research leads us to reject both the opti- mism of development planners who frame such problems as technical and the antagonistic pessimism of their critics. Searching for a middle ground requires stepping back from the dogma of efforts to improve biomass cook-stoves.


www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev


! 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords — India, improved cookstove, technology, gender, history 




	3.  Fortunately this paper (with-fee, released this month) is available free for some of us through Research Gate.   So no need to go to a library and I was able to finish it today.  It is one of the best stove papers I have ever read (and I have probably read over a hundred).  This is the reason I will try to make the Conference - next week.  This Iowa group has done their stove homework.  

	4.  Although an outstanding paper,  I think (not being sure being my reason to attend) the Iowa authors are (or were) unaware of charcoal-making stoves.  I will expand on this after I read the paper again, and more so if I attend.  Anyone else read the paper and have comments?

	5.  I ask Nikhil to explain his “Come October” comment immediately below.  The rest of the three part exchange between Nikhil and Crispin seems intended to disparage the conference “smoke” theme, and the paper behind the conference.  I’d appreciate their thoughts on the paper.

Ron







> On Apr 6, 2017, at 11:04 AM, Nikhil Desai <pienergy2008 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Crispin:
> 
> Conferences are for Going Up in Smoke.
> 
> With the right fuel and fire.
> 
> Come October.
> 
> Nikhil
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Nikhil Desai
> (India +91) 909 995 2080
> Skype: nikhildesai888
> 
> 
> On Thu, Apr 6, 2017 at 10:23 PM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <crispinpigott at outlook.com <mailto:crispinpigott at outlook.com>> wrote:
> Dear Nikhil
> 
> That is going to be a pretty strange conference. ‎If CO2 is now 'pollution' and not the result of perfect biomass combustion what performance targets will we now seek?
> 
> If they don't know the difference between an attribution of a contribution to a premature death and what is written on a death certificate, they are in for a shock. 
> 
> I have been made aware of a new tense in the English language. The idea that CO2 is thought by the WHO to be a cause of death of thousands of children ‎is stated in the 'future hopeful' tense. 
> 
> The 'future hopeful' tense describes something said or written that the author hopes will one day be shown to be true. ‎It is a form of forecasting without the pretense of science. 
> 
> Regards 
> Crispin
> 
> 
> 
> Going up in Smoke program schedule at http://bit.ly/WCSmoke <http://bit.ly/WCSmoke>
> 
> 5 April 2017
> 
> UI hosts conference to save millions of lives globally <https://now.uiowa.edu/2017/04/ui-hosts-conference-save-millions-lives-globally>
> 
> "Millions of women around the world die every year from the simple household task of cooking...
> 
> From April 12–14, the University of Iowa will host a group of internationally recognized experts at a conference, Women’s Health and the Environment: Going up in Smoke <http://events.uiowa.edu/event/worldcanvass_womens_health_and_the_environment#.WOUV13QrK3A>, to address this silent global crisis...
> 
> The World Health Organization estimates that the carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other pollutants released while burning biomass lead to 4 million deaths annually...
> 
> “Even in developing countries where this is such a problem, there is very little media discussion about this issue because these deaths are spread out over the year and therefore not sensational. It’s what Rob Nixon, a professor at Princeton, calls a ‘slow violence.’”
>  
> 
>  <https://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/02837405415513532105/2487160887245583864>
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Stoves mailing list
> 
> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
> stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org <mailto:stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> 
> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org>
> 
> for more Biomass Cooking Stoves,  News and Information see our web site:
> http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/ <http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/>
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Stoves mailing list
> 
> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
> stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
> 
> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org
> 
> for more Biomass Cooking Stoves,  News and Information see our web site:
> http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/
> 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20170407/07ad7ec8/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: page2image20552.png
Type: image/png
Size: 43282 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20170407/07ad7ec8/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: page2image21168.png
Type: image/png
Size: 118 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20170407/07ad7ec8/attachment-0001.png>


More information about the Stoves mailing list