Canada and the World

        Current Events with a Canadian Perspective

 

Last update

19 November 2010

Site map

Kyoto Box

Cooker Uses Solar Power

 

A competition designed to find new ways

of combatting global warming picks

an innovative solar-powered cooker as winner

 

The Forum for the Future is a non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom that focusses on sustainable development.

 

In conjunction with The Financial Times of London, the group issued a competition in November 2008 “to find the most innovative solution to the effects of climate change.”

 

Cheap Cardboard Cooker Wins Prize

Sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, the competition offered a prize of $75,000 to the idea that an independent panel of judges deemed to be the best. The winner, announced on April 2009, was Kyoto Energy Ltd., of Kenya. The inventor of what’s called the Kyoto Box is a Norwegian Jon Bøhmer.

 

According to The Financial Times “The $5 cooker uses the greenhouse effect to boil and bake. It consists of two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, with an acrylic cover that lets the sun’s power in and stops it escaping and doubles as a ‘hob top.’ ” Insulation between the boxes is provided by straw or newspaper, while foil and black paint help to maximize absorption of solar energy.

 

Stove Reduces Carbon Emissions

According to the BBC, “As many as two billion people in the world use firewood as their primary fuel.” This is a significant source of carbon-dioxide emissions as well as a health hazard.

 

The Financial Times reports that, “This fuel-less stove aims to address health problems in rural villages as well as avoiding carbon dioxide emissions: it provides a source of clean boiled water, cuts down on indoor smoke inhalation, and reduces the need to gather firewood.”

 

The Kyoto Box will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by two tonnes per family each year. A factory in Nairobi that is already making the device has the capacity to produce 2.5 million boxes a month. A more durable version that is made from recycled plastic is also being manufactured.

 

Climate Change Competition Entries

The Climate Change Challenge attracted more than 300 entries were:

• The Black Phantom – A device that can turn biomass into charcoal that can then be stored underground in a carbon sink;
• Deflektors – These a truck wheel covers designed to make vehicles more fuel efficient by reducing drag;
• Mootral – A livestock feed supplement that reduces the amount of methane gas expelled by cattle; and
• Hollow Ceiling Tiles – Water is stored in the tiles, which draws warm air out of a room as it evaporates reducing the need for air conditioning.

 

The above inventions all made the short list, but after looking at all the entries, the judges, which included Sir Richard Branson, picked the Kyoto Box as the best one.

 

Sources

“Solar Cooker Wins Climate Change Challenge.” Shannon Carr-Shand, Forum for the Future, April 9, 2009.

“Solar Powered Cardboard Cooker.” Financial Times, March 18, 2009.

“Prize for ‘Sun in the Box’ Cooker.” Richard Black, BBC News, April 9, 2009.

 

© Canada and the World, July 2010

All rights reserved

"With as many people as there are in the developing world today, they can't just cook using trees - they'll finish off all the trees."

Jon Bøhmer,

Kyoto Energy