[Stoves] Fwd: LPG India update and comments (Paul, Crispin)

[Traveller]

More - Coverage of clean cooking fuel, LPG in India increases to 72%:
Pradhan
<https://energyinfrapost.com/coverage-clean-cooking-fuel-lpg-india-increases-725-pradhan/>
6
February 2017 and a video - Kirk Smith: 'Air pollution is the biggest risk
factor in India'
<http://www.wionews.com/videos/kirk-smith-air-pollution-is-the-biggest-risk-factor-in-india-1930>

I am glad Prof. Smith brings up brick kilns. The construction boom in India
- big cities to towns and villages - has changed the Indian energy scene in
such a significant manner from production of building materials (bricks,
cement, steel, glass, furniture) to household fuel use (piped gas in
multi-storeyed apartments and bungalows). Brick kilns have created a market
for rice husk and straw, which may be behind the apparent demise of a
high-flying renewable energy company called Husk Power (no news in months;
First Solar's troubles may have spilled over).

More on urban smog in India -  http://blogs.wsj.com/
indiarealtime/2016/03/22/mumbais-vast-garbage-dump-
catches-fire-again-covering-city-in-smog/ - and Farmers’ Unchecked Crop
Burning Fuels India’s Air Pollution
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/world/asia/farmers-unchecked-crop-burning-fuels-indias-air-pollution.html>
NYT
2 November 2016.

Wastes - crop stalks, leaves, open defecation including urban cattle,
plastic burning, chemical spills, landfills, industrial/commercial
emissions - might well be deadlier than automobile or household fuel
emissions, but the assumption of equitoxicity means all killers are equal.

I remember arguing in 1991 - in a paper published under a gtz project in
Kuala Lampur, I forget (perhaps APDC) - that Indian household energy policy
should push out kerosene from rural lighting and urban cooking in 10-15
years.

By the time the previous governments of India accelerated LPG "connections"
(contracts to deliver quota supplies to households) in around 2004 - with a
rural subscheme in 2009 - I don't think any other option was politically
viable. Separate rural distribution licenses were granted, but the burden
of carrying the oil company losses in the face of high oil prices and the
corruption in the kerosene/LPG distribution thwarted the expansion.

If I remember correctly, the party of Modi Chaiwalla blocked the Manmohan
Singh government's efforts at direct subsidy deposit, which was put in
place in 2015, along with elimination of "ghost" LPG accounts. It also
helps that the world's largest refining complex, some 500 kms from here,
produces "excess" LPG (meaning from foreign crude whose other liquid
products are exported) that it wants to pipe into Indian bulk LPG pipeline.
That refinery is owned by one of the patrons of Chaiwalla-sahib's electoral
career.

Evidence of aDALYs wasn't needed in 1940s - gas in Bombay or around the
world - or 1965 - LPG in Indian cities - or 2009 - LPG for Indian villages.

My low birthweight (3.5 lbs = 1.6 kg) was probably not due to air
pollution. But IHME can certainly attribute it 0.0005% probability for that
cohort (whatever the risk factors for low birthweight were then).

Nikhil

---------
(India +91) 909 995 2080 <+91%2090999%2052080>



>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20170220/34bb91d2/attachment.html>