Cookstove Research Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, 8:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST
EPA at Research Triangle Park, Building C, Auditorium C111 and Online Webinar
Please join us for an EPA hosted interagency Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research meeting on the impacts of residential cooking, heating and lighting on air quality and climate.
The combined effects of household and ambient air pollution make air pollution the world’s largest single environmental health risk, contributing to 7 million deaths per year. Of these, 4.3 million are attributable to household air pollution (HAP), according to the 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease report.
A 2015 Nature article by a featured speaker STAR grantee found that 55% of wood harvested worldwide is used for fuel. Wood-burning cookstoves increase indoor air pollution, black carbon emissions, and forest degradation - escalating environmental, health and economic risks. Cleaner cooking, heating and lighting can enhance livelihood opportunities and reduce adverse health, environmental and economic impacts associated with traditional biomass combustion.
At this meeting, EPA STAR grant investigators will discuss field measurements and modeling of the impacts of cleaner cooking, heating, lighting, and fuels on air quality, health and climate. EPA scientists, speakers from federal agencies, and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves will report on the relationship of research, policy and practice in the field, participation by the private sector, and opportunities to improve air quality and the lives of people worldwide.
These EPA-funded grants support the National Program, Air, Climate and Energy (ACE), which provides transdisciplinary research, which addresses the complex air quality issues that we face today. Even though air quality has improved, many continue to suffer from cardiovascular disease, asthma and other health problems that result from air pollution. One of ACE’s research goals is to assess human and ecosystem exposures and effects caused by air pollutants and climate change. ACE research also wants to provide data and tools that can help prevent and reduce air pollutant emissions in ways that are sustainable, innovative and cost effective.
For more details on the STAR grants, please see: Measurements and Modeling for Quantifying Air Quality and Climatic Impacts of Residential Biomass or Coal Combustion for Cooking, Heating and Lighting.
Featured Speakers
Tami Bond, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign A Global Map of Feasible Residential Solutions, Emphasizing Stoves with Space Heating Uses<http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/10198/report/0>
Rob Bailis, Yale University Experimental Interventions to Facilitate Clean Cookstove Adoption, Promote Clean Indoor Air, and Mitigate Climate Change
Michael Hannigan, University of Colorado at Boulder How Will Cleaner Cooking and Lighting Practices Impact Regional Air Quality and Climate in the Sahel of Africa?
Jill Baumgartner, University of Minnesota Improving Air Quality, Health and the Environment Through Household Energy Interventions in the Tibetan Plateau
Kirk Smith, University of California at Berkeley Impacts of Household Sources on Outdoor Pollution at Village and Regional Scales in India
John Volckens, Colorado State University Quantifying the Climate, Air Quality and Health Benefits of Improved Cookstoves: An Integrated Laboratory, Field and Modeling Study
Rufus Edwards, University of California Irvine Characterization of Emissions from Small, Variable Solid Fuel Combustion Sources For Determining Global Emissions and Climate Impact
John Mitchell, US EPA Office of Air & Radiation, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air Bryan Bloomer, Director, Applied Science and Education Division, National Center for Environmental Research, EPA Office of Research and Development Dan Costa, National Program Director, Air, Climate, & Energy Research Program, EPA Office of Research and Development Speakers from Across the US Government - TBD Sumi Mehta, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
Registration
Registration is free and open to the public – please feel free to forward this announcement.
Anyone planning to attend in person who is not an EPA employee should contact Michael Hiscock (Hiscock.michael@epa.gov) by February 21, 2015, to be placed on the list for admittance into the facility. All visitors must present a government-issued ID.
Webinar
For those unable to attend in person, these presentations will be presented live via Adobe Connect.