http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2010/06/11/June5EnvironmentDay/17137
The prospect of at least six more years of power cuts is making businesses, homes and offices to migrate to solar power in a big way
AHMAD ISKANDAR
Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. Sure enough with the prospect of at least six more years of power cuts, businesses, homes and offices in Nepal are all migrating to solar power in a big way.
Going solar isn't going to make you more environmentally friendly in Nepal because hydroelectricity already accounts for 99 per cent of supply. But if you use diesel gensets to tide over long loadshedding hours, then it does make sense to use the abundant free energy from the sun.
Solar comes in two types: passive solar heating of water for the household, and electricity generation through photo-voltaic panels. Nepal's urban homes and trek lodges routes have been using locally built solar water heaters for 30 years now. But solar cells for electricity are becoming more popular with the price of photo-voltaics coming down.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has set an example by installing a solar array for backup power and to charge its fleet of electric vehicles. In winter, solar energy contributes 15 per cent of the energy needed to heat the building and also powers the perimeter and parking lot lights.
Across Patan, the World Food Programme (WFP) office recently completed the first phase conversion of its entire office to solar power, even when there is electricity from the mains. "Our annual electricity bill is $20,000, and we spend $12,000 on diesel," explains WFP's Tyler McMahon. "We hope to cut the utility bills by half once the whole system is in place and will completely eliminate the diesel bill for the generator."
It's not just big international organisations that are going solar. Electronic engineer Surendra Mathema has put his technical knowledge to good use at home where he has a fully solar 200W backup for the whole house, a passive solar water heating system and even a parabolic solar dish for heating water. Mathema also uses LED lights to reduce energy consumption and CFLs wherever he can.
"The great thing about solar is that it's a one-time investment, once you set it up everything is free," he says.
The next challenge is to convince NEA to buy back power when home generators like Mathema or organisations like ICIMOD have a surplus. This 'making the meter run backward' technology would not just turn households into power supply sources, but also help reduce loadshedding on the grid. The only obstacle is to introduce the technology and set up the regulatory framework.
The time and money invested by Nepal's solar pioneers show much promise, and finally proves there may be a light at the end of the tunnel after all.
Thursday
The age of enlightenment
The Genchenpa Extended Scholarship Fund(GESF)
Dear Friends.
The Genchenpa Extended Scholarship Fund(GESF) was established in 2005 by the Genchenpa families and extended families here in the United States as a tribute to those in our family that have passed away. Our mission is to provide educational assistance to Tibetan children in Tibet and Tibetan refugee children in India.
For the first 4 years of the GESF project we were able to assist students at TCV School in India with their higher education. For the last year we have decided to provide assistance to Tibetan children inside Tibet, specifically those in the rural western region of Tibet. In this region of Tibet, children only have access to school till middle school. We are providing funding to aide these rural children to seek further educational opportunities in larger cities in Tibet. Currently we are working with 3 students in this region of Tibet and plan to help more.
To date the funds have been voluntarily donated directly by Genchenpa families annually. In order to make this a sustainable project we would like to involve more of the community, and have decided to start by having our first garage sale. We would like to make this project about more than what our family donates, but a community effort to improve the lives of young Tibetans.
Any sellable items or cash donations are greatly appreciated, please contact Nawang Kelsang, Coordinator of the Genchenpa Extended Scholarship Fund @ 360-213-9284 or nkelsang@yahoo.com. Be assured that all of the funds from this garage sale will go directly to the students in Tibet.
Garage Sale Details:
When: June 11 & 12, 2010 – all day!
Where: 614 NE 153rd Ave, Vancouver, WA 98684
We encourage you to stop by and browse – there will be lots of treasures to be discovered.
Thank you,
Genchenpa Family
Monday
Biogas moves up
http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2010/06/7/June5EnvironmentDay/17134
A quiet revolution in rural Nepal has made this country a world leader in alternative energy
Away from the political turmoil in the capital, a quiet revolution in rural Nepal has made this country a world leader in alternative energy.
In the past 50 years, over 205,000 households have built biogas plants to turn farm manure into methane gas for cooking and lighting. The simplicity of the Nepali-designed technology that allows bacteria already inside the cow's stomach to turn cowdung into a clean and safe gas is only half the story.
The other half is a successful government-subsidised soft credit scheme. There is almost 100 per cent payback, the effluent is excellent pathogen-free fertiliser, and the elimination of indoor pollution from kitchen fires has reduced child mortality.
The Nepali fixed-dome biogas design is cheap and maintenance free, and proved to be superior to Indian and Chinese models. After initial support from the United Mission to Nepal, the Dutch group SNV stepped in with the Biogas Support Program (BSP), and millions of farmers in nearly all districts of Nepal have benefited in the past decades.
Today, 98 per cent of the plants are still functioning, some of them nearly 30 years old. Nearly 20,000 new plants are being added every year and BSP's goal is to have a total of 500,000 plants in Nepal. The organisation won the prestigious Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in 2005.
One of the limiting factors is that biogas doesn't work as well in the cold climate at higher elevations. But with its new pilot plants in Langtang, BSP has found a simple way to generate methane from yak dung even at higher altitudes.
Pasang Demdi Sherpa, a trekking guide, is happy with the biogas plant in his hometown. "It saves us a lot of firewood, and I wish more people would use it," he says.
What Pasang Demdi and other high-altitude biogas users have done is to pile a compost heap on top of the underground digester so that it heats and insulates the� digester from the chill of the Langtang winter.
Kyanjin Gompa, the highest settlement in Langtang Valley at 3,850m, is where no biogas plant has gone before. At first, the plant at Hotel Yala Peak just looks like a pile of rubbish, but beneath the heap of steaming compost is the underground dome digester that supplies methane to the kitchen even in winter.
"We've considered many other methods of heating the digester, from using solar heaters to building biogas plants within greenhouses, but those are very expensive solutions," explains Hari Bahadur KC, an engineer with BSP.
Heap composting to insulate digesters is a small-is-beautiful solution that needs no added cost, and the compost itself can be recycled for fertiliser. Biogas can now go to mountain regions, where replacing firewood for cooking is even more important to protect the environment.
BSP's executive director Saroj Rai is not someone who rests on his laurels. He is happy that Nepal's biogas program is an internationally acclaimed success story because of the 'ecology of support' it has from the government, banks, donors, technicians and farmers. But he wants to concentrate on making the technology even more widely available, and maintain the quality of the construction and after-sales service.
Says Rai: "Biogas is perfect energy solution for rural Nepal, and it is regarded as a model for other countries as well."
READ ALSO:
'Hurrah Nepal's future is in the dung heap', #234
'Cowdung takes the cake', #257
HOW DOES BIOGAS WORK?
The technology couldn't be simpler. All you need is four cows for a four-member household, mix the cowdung with an equal amount of water, allow it to ferment in an underground digester and the carbohydrates are decomposed into flammable methane gas. The spent slurry is very good fertiliser, and the process is completely organic. The beauty of it is that the technology has no movable parts and needs very little maintenance. Larger families with fewer cows have also successfully linked their latrines to the digester.
Usually, BSP provides a Rs 12,000 subsidised credit to defray the cost of building the plants and most farmers offset that cost by the Rs 10,000 a year they save in not buying firewood and kerosene. an 8 cubic m plant usually costs between 50-100,00 rupess depending on road-access. Plants in roadless areas of Nepal cost more.
Thursday
Donation to Yushu, Tibet through Machik
http://www.machik.org/
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=25331
http://www.machik.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273
JYEKUNDO EARTHQUAKE APPEAL
Earthquake Devastates Jyekundo (Yushu)
April 14, 2010 - On Tuesday, 13 April, a devastating earthquake struck in the Tibetan area of Jyekundo. The quake measured approximately 6.9 and took place at 07.49 (23.49 GMT).
Due to limited capacity on the ground, it is difficult to assess the devastation at the moment. Early reports indicate that hundreds have perished, while a local observer estimates that the number is likely above 3000. An estimated 80% of the buildings have collapsed. The water dam has been damaged and there are fears of the city being flooded.
We are deeply saddened by the tragic human loss and send our prayers for those who struggle for survival now.
Jyekundo is a Tibetan county approximately 800km southwest of the city of Xining. It is on the border of the Kham and Amdo regions. The vast majority of the local people are Tibetan herders without access to emergency relief resources.
The people of Jyekundo urgently need your immediate help for medicines, clothing, food and clean water, and in the longer term for rebuilding their community.
Machik is networked with Tibetans who have years of experience serving local community needs in the Jyekundo and surrounding areas.
Monday
Red Cross Launches Appeal on Mongolia (severe storms)
http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4638&Itemid=36
Written by Ch.Sumiyabazar
Tuesday, March 30, 2010.
International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) on Monday appealed CHF 1,062,295 (US$991,697) in cash, kind, or services to support the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS) to assist 13,600 animal herders who have lost their entire livestock to one of the worst winters in the last three decades.
According to the Mongolian Red Cross Society, 4.5 million livestock have died so far since December 2009, nearly 10 percent of the nation’s animal population. Four human deaths were reported, mainly maternal deaths, to have occurred in snow-blocked residences in remote areas that have no possibility to reach by ambulance.
More than 90 percent or 19 out of 21 provinces of Mongolia have been covered with heavy snow in which more than 3,400 herder families have been severely affected.
Millions of livestock carcasses now lie scattered across the Mongolian steppe, half-buried in the snow, which may cause outbreak of a disease, national health experts warned, when it gets warm and snow thaws. Another warning is a potential risk of flash flooding of thawed snow in April and May.
“Analysis over the past two months indicates a deterioration in the coping capacities of the population. The impact is greatest for more than 3,000 herder families (12,000 people) who have lost their entire livestock reserve.” IFRC stated.
“In response to the increasing needs of the most affected population, this Emergency Appeal supports MRCS in providing herder families with the timely delivery of relief assistance through the distribution of food and non-food items as well as the provision of psychosocial support to the most vulnerable families affected by the severe winter. Additional support for herder families in rebuilding their livelihoods will be provided through recovery interventions, the details of which will be defined through further assessments defining targeted support.”
The MRCS also appealed media organizations for their cooperation in giving warm messages to animal herders. “Psychological support is vitally needed for those strongly affected,” said R.Samdandovj, Secretary General of the MRCS. Some local media outlets have published opinion pieces to remind “lazy” animal herders, who have not prepared reserves of fodder in the warm season, are accountable for loss of their own private assets.
Friday
Shades of Green thru The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/03/green_survey_reveals_oregonian.html
Green survey reveals Oregonians practice sustainability, but in different shades of green
By Scott Learn, The Oregonian
March 26, 2010, 3:55AM
Illustration by Steve Cowden, The Oregonian
Our first green survey introduced us to a Portland woman who fills about a garbage can a year, a Milwaukie man with a 2,000-square-foot garden and a slew of dedicated recyclers, including a retired nurse who met her husband at a recycling center and used to recycle glass IV bottles after her shift was over.
The survey, which drew 540 responses from online and print readers, also identified some backlash at bicyclists, admissions of green fatigue and a sizable gap between people who think activities such as biking, bus riding, composting and buying local food are important and those who actually do them. Our survey wasn't scientific -- judging by written responses and interviews it slanted toward the green-minded. But there were some revealing results:
NO BRAINERS
More than nine in 10 people turn off their lights when not in use. That was high, but not a lot more than the 89 percent nationally who said they flipped the switches in a random green survey conducted three months ago by Yale and George Mason universities. That strong response makes sense: turning off lights saves money, too.
Where Oregon really stood out: 93 percent recycle everything possible at home, versus 53 percent nationally. Eight in 10 regularly use reusable shopping bags, versus about a third nationally. And eight in 10 actively reduce trash, nearly double the national rate.
Those surveys aren't directly comparable. The national survey was random and scientific. Ours wasn't. But the results are consistent with Oregon's relatively high recycling rates and, readers pointed out, the state's environmental ethic.
Gloria Miniszewski, the retired nurse, said she and her husband keep their heat down in their Portland home, try to minimize driving, often buy used clothes and set their water heater at a low temperature.
"There's always room for improvement, and sometimes I think we (Oregonians) blow our horns a little bit too hard," she said. "But we feel very fortunate living in Oregon overall."
AN ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR GAP
A lot more people ranked mass transit, walking, biking, composting and buying locally grown food as important than actually did those things.
Part of it is access. Readers from Seaside to Woodburn said they don't have great alternatives to their car.
"I would like to walk to the store and my salon, but we live up from where Scholls Ferry and Beaverton-Hillsdale collide!" reader Marta Alto wrote. There are "no sidewalks or place to walk but the ditch -- even scarier for bikes."
Part of it is cost. Diana Koppen of Portland said she frequents farmers markets, and likes the idea of buying local produce. "But I'm not going to pay a premium just because it's locally grown," she said. "If the cost is reasonable, then I buy."
And part of it is the hassle factor.
Terry Perrone of Happy Valley ranked himself high on most green measures -- he reuses bags for supermarket vegetables and loves the smell of line-dried sheets. "Where I would like to improve is composting, or using wet garbage," he said. "If I wasn't so lazy I guess I'd get some kind of composter."
Steve Cowden, The Oregonian
THE UNCONVINCED
Then there are those who aren't sold on all the conventional green recommendations.
Nearly a third of the respondents didn't take mass transit, bike or walk and didn't think doing so was important, higher than the national averages in those categories.
Some are retired or disabled and don't drive much anyway. Others, including Cheryl Mellnik, a manufacturer's representative from Portland, need cars for their jobs.
Mellnik, an "old hippie from the '60s" who ranked high in most green behaviors, said she supports biking but gets frustrated at bikers, a fairly common gripe.
"It's scary because they'll just go when you've got a green light -- I just had that happen yesterday when I was driving downtown on 6th Avenue," she said. "It can be annoying."
About a quarter of respondents also cited composting, buying locally grown food and washing laundry in cold water as unimportant.
That result was lower than the national average for composting; for laundry and local food, it was about the same.
"I am from the old school," wrote Xan Graf of Portland. "My whites, linens and towels go into hot water. No one will ever convince me that cold water will do the job on those items."
MISSING ELEMENTS
Readers thought our survey missed some important green behaviors. Among them: buying organic, eating less meat, forgoing pesticides, improving home insulation, using clotheslines, planting for low water use and reducing population growth.
"When we do things like recycle and scrimp on water usage, it just enables the politicians to cram more people into smaller spaces," said David Petersen, a father of one who has seen small lots spread like wildfire near his Tigard home. "The real problem is population. Everything else is just a Band-Aid."
HIGH BARS
Arthur Moore and his wife have ridden bikes for decades, bring items they can't recycle at curbside to a Far West Fibers depot and maintain a 2,000-square-foot garden in their Milwaukie yard that supplies them and many of their neighbors for much of the year.
"We're maniacs," Moore said.
Betty Shelley and her husband are down to one garbage pickup a year from their Portland home. But Shelley, who works part-time in the Metro regional government's recycling information center, said they started small about 15 years ago. "It's about taking one step at a time," she said.
Those steps included switching to cloth napkins, buying in bulk, heading to the library instead of buying books, reusing plastic bags and turning down the thermostat in 2 degree increments.
Like many other respondents, Shelley noted that today's "green" behaviors are really nothing new. Waste not, want not, was a common refrain.
"My mother-in-law used to do all that stuff and I thought it was really strange," Shelley said. "But now we do it, too."
- Scott Learn
Steve Cowden, The Oregonian
