EPA’s next target in fight against climate change: cooking stoves
U.S. fight against climate change moves into the kitchen



FILE - In this March 8, 2014 file photo, a wood stove heats a home in Freeport, Maine. Wood-burning stoves have ignited a debate between the Obama administration and South Dakota lawmakers who oppose new regulations that would require more efficiency from an iconic feature of many rural homes. South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem oppose the rules. The Republicans argue that any new requirements will have a disproportionate impact on South Dakotans, particularly rural residents. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

By John Solomon
The Washington Times
Monday, May 26, 2014

The war on climate change may soon be moving inside the kitchen.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy is set to unveil on Tuesday six federal grants to universities to fund research on clean cookstove technology.

The announcement will put the EPA’s resources squarely behind a United Nations’ quest for cleaner burning stoves and an end to deadly cooking pollution.

“This research will help to improve air quality, protect public health and slow climate change,” the EPA said in explaining why the agency chief will preside over the announcement on Tuesday.

To make the case for why these grants are so important, EPA noted the World Health Organization estimates that exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open pit fires leads to 4.3 million premature deaths each year.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy makes remarks during a news conference Wednesday, May 21, 2014, in Salt Lake City. The head of the EPA was in Salt Lake City Tuesday to talk about the agency's efforts to reduce carbon pollution. The Utah appearance by EPA administrator McCarthy is her first stop in a three-city tour that also includes Seattle and Portland. She is meeting with politicians, local leaders and business people as the EPA tries to implement President Barack Obama's climate-change plan.

The fact is, though, most of the problem lives far from the shores of the United States, where most Americans have modern gas and electric stoves.

Rather, the target of this research are the 3 billion people, mostly in the developing world, who still cook using solid fuels like wood, crop wastes, charcoal, coal and dung in open fires or leaky stoves., according to the World Heath Organization

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014.../#ixzz32qUW6aup


I smell crony capitalism at work. This is a twofer: make life more difficult for certain rural populations in the US, and massive wealth transfer from US taxpayers, some of which may actually make it to the poor in third world countries, or maybe not.

FYI for those in climates with enough sun, there has already been a lot of work done on solar cookers. It was done to slow down deforesting in third world countries:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cooker
http://solarcooking.org/plans/
http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar...work_%28Home%29
http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Categ...elected_designs