Comments on: Dr. Amy Smith and Carbon Macrotubes http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/ EthanZ's musings on Africa, media and international development Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:45:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: …My heart’s in Accra » Biomass charcoal in eastern DRC http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-1131285 …My heart’s in Accra » Biomass charcoal in eastern DRC Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:29:30 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-1131285 [...] Hearing Smith speak at the TED conference helped convince me that one of the most interesting problems to be solved in the developing world is charcoal. Charcoal is an extremely popular cooking fuel in developing nations - it’s cheap, easy to use and can be bought in very small quantities. (Even if propane cooking gas were comparable in price, the cost of a gas burner and the propane tank would put it out of reach of most poor people.) The downsides of charcoal are numerous, but two factors are especially important: fumes from charcoal kill 2 million children a year and contribute to the respiratory illness of millions of others, and charcoal is exceedingly environmentally destructive, as it produces carbon dioxide when produced and when burned, and causes deforestation. [...] [...] Hearing Smith speak at the TED conference helped convince me that one of the most interesting problems to be solved in the developing world is charcoal. Charcoal is an extremely popular cooking fuel in developing nations – it’s cheap, easy to use and can be bought in very small quantities. (Even if propane cooking gas were comparable in price, the cost of a gas burner and the propane tank would put it out of reach of most poor people.) The downsides of charcoal are numerous, but two factors are especially important: fumes from charcoal kill 2 million children a year and contribute to the respiratory illness of millions of others, and charcoal is exceedingly environmentally destructive, as it produces carbon dioxide when produced and when burned, and causes deforestation. [...]

]]> By: Kevin http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-808915 Kevin Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:38:07 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-808915 I found this website which has a technical manual for sugarcane charcoal as well as the following site which has instructions on making corn cob briquettes: http://www.nyas.org/ebriefreps/ebrief/000588/pdfs/corn-cob-charcoal.pdf Enjoy I found this website which has a technical manual for sugarcane charcoal as well as the following site which has instructions on making corn cob briquettes: http://www.nyas.org/ebriefreps/ebrief/000588/pdfs/corn-cob-charcoal.pdf

Enjoy

]]> By: Ethan http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-808856 Ethan Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:09:35 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-808856 Kevin, Amy's pretty responsive. You'd want to contact her via D-Lab - http://web.mit.edu/d-lab/ Kevin, Amy’s pretty responsive. You’d want to contact her via D-Lab – http://web.mit.edu/d-lab/

]]> By: Kevin http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-808851 Kevin Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:03:21 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-808851 I'm working on a project in Malawi and I think this is a great idea-has anyone found any more specific information on corncob charcoal? Perhaps we can coordinate to get a little attention from the people at MIT? I’m working on a project in Malawi and I think this is a great idea-has anyone found any more specific information on corncob charcoal? Perhaps we can coordinate to get a little attention from the people at MIT?

]]> By: Chuck http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-472916 Chuck Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:06:00 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-472916 I am interested in the corn cob process too for our school in Nigeria but can't find out any information. Any help? I am interested in the corn cob process too for our school in Nigeria but can’t find out any information. Any help?

]]> By: Anita http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-234596 Anita Tue, 01 May 2007 04:02:34 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-234596 I've been trying to find out more about this concept to apply it in (East) Timor Leste, as corn is an easy crop to grow over there- am still searching for leads as i haven't heard back from the people i wrote to at MIT. in the vein of alternative fuels, have you seen this? http://www.kokonutpacific.com.au/index.html?Biofuel.htm great blog, Ethan any hints on how you keep it so free of spam-entries? I’ve been trying to find out more about this concept to apply it in (East) Timor Leste, as corn is an easy crop to grow over there- am still searching for leads as i haven’t heard back from the people i wrote to at MIT.

in the vein of alternative fuels, have you seen this?
http://www.kokonutpacific.com.au/index.html?Biofuel.htm

great blog, Ethan
any hints on how you keep it so free of spam-entries?

]]> By: …My heart’s in Accra » Ooh! Shiny! http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-231282 …My heart’s in Accra » Ooh! Shiny! Sat, 28 Apr 2007 21:03:48 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-231282 [...] In terms of what distracts me, I think M-PESA and other mobile phone cash systems are pretty much the shiniest things I’ve seen lately. Then again, I thought Dr. Amy Smith’s work on making sustainable charcoal was the shiniest thing at last year’s TED, so perhaps I’ve lost my geeky sense of shiny and adopted some new appropriate technology criteria instead. (”Crunchy”? “Useful”? “Dull”?) But M-PESA makes me want to go out and start businesses, which is a classic shiny response. [...] [...] In terms of what distracts me, I think M-PESA and other mobile phone cash systems are pretty much the shiniest things I’ve seen lately. Then again, I thought Dr. Amy Smith’s work on making sustainable charcoal was the shiniest thing at last year’s TED, so perhaps I’ve lost my geeky sense of shiny and adopted some new appropriate technology criteria instead. (”Crunchy”? “Useful”? “Dull”?) But M-PESA makes me want to go out and start businesses, which is a classic shiny response. [...]

]]> By: …My heart’s in Accra » Twelve great talks to watch, and no excuses for being bored. (Or boring.) http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-216060 …My heart’s in Accra » Twelve great talks to watch, and no excuses for being bored. (Or boring.) Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:14:57 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-216060 [...] If it were socially acceptable to follow scientists around the world, hanging on their every word, as some people follow rock bands around the world, I’d be an Amy Smith groupie. Dr. Smith’s TED talk focuses on “carbon macrotubes” - charcoal, in other words - and the tremendous health importance of producing sustainable, clean-burning cooking fuel for the developing world. [...] [...] If it were socially acceptable to follow scientists around the world, hanging on their every word, as some people follow rock bands around the world, I’d be an Amy Smith groupie. Dr. Smith’s TED talk focuses on “carbon macrotubes” – charcoal, in other words – and the tremendous health importance of producing sustainable, clean-burning cooking fuel for the developing world. [...]

]]> By: michael http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-174170 michael Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:32:36 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-174170 Bagas (bagasse) is a staple component in the industrial ecology of the sugarcane industry in Brazil. As with other areas concerning bioenergy, Brazil is decades ahead of the rest of the world and serves as a great model for developing modest tech/high economic impact markets. michael http://aeroculus.blogspot.com/ Bagas (bagasse) is a staple component in the industrial ecology of the sugarcane industry in Brazil. As with other areas concerning bioenergy, Brazil is decades ahead of the rest of the world and serves as a great model for developing modest tech/high economic impact markets.

michael
http://aeroculus.blogspot.com/

]]> By: Christina Baber http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2006/02/24/dr-amy-smith-and-carbon-macrotubes/comment-page-1/#comment-158145 Christina Baber Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:21:36 +0000 http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=403#comment-158145 How does one go about making the briquettes out of bagasa for use for cooking. I live in the Dominican Republic and the deforestation that is almos complete in Haiti is being done here on our side of the island. Maybe if we can teach our rural areas to produce briquettes our of something other than wood we can start controlling this problem. Thank Christina How does one go about making the briquettes out of bagasa for use for cooking. I live in the Dominican Republic and the deforestation that is almos complete in Haiti is being done here on our side of the island.

Maybe if we can teach our rural areas to produce briquettes our of something other than wood we can start controlling this problem.

Thank
Christina

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