Hope you’re in the mood for a little feel-good story for Easter/Passover!
Environmental issues and Climate Change are topics well covered at this site. And there seems to be close to consensus that mankind is facing an anthropogenic climate change with potentially disastrous consequences unless radical measures are taken. Measures that may involve short-term sacrifices to achieve their objectives. Sacrifices that many are still reluctant to make, fronted by a mostly disingenuous, but vocal cadre of climate change deniers.
But here’s a story that should appeal to most everyone.
The FT Climate Change Challenge is a competition run by The Financial Times Limited and is run in association with Forum for the Future and Hewlett-Packard Company to find the most innovative solution to the effects of climate change. The $75,000 prize aims to turn the best idea into reality.
And the winner is:
Solar-powered cooker wins climate contest
A solar-powered cardboard cooker will today be announced the winner of a $75,000 competition to tackle climate change.
The Kyoto Box uses the sun’s rays to cook food and boil water. It is targeted at the 3bn people who use firewood. The box costs just $5 (€3.80, £3.40) to make and will be given away free.
Jon Bohmer, the cooker’s inventor, said: “It’s a great feeling. The prize is just what’s needed to get this project off the ground. There’s only so much I can do on my own.”
The FT Climate Change Challenge sought to find and publicise the most innovative and scalable solution to the effects of climate change.
[…]
By replacing firewood, the cooker could save up to two tonnes of carbon emissions per family per year. Mr Bohmer hopes the box will be eligible for carbon credits, hence the name Kyoto box, making a yearly profit of €20-€30 ($26-$40, £18-£27) per stove, which would enable further expansion and easily cover the cost of replacing the cooker after five years.
The stove could also save lives: it can boil 10 litres of water in two hours, destroying the germs that kill millions of children each year.
More information on other finalists and the selection panel here.
And here is a link to the Kyoto Box and other ideas/presentations by the inventor.
Wish him well!
