There is a solar powered cooking device, the sun oven, that can shed light and hope on a perishing population, in spite of economic and societal inequities.
If you are over the age of 5 and have not noticed by now a few imbalances and inequities in our society regarding economics, the "Haves" and the "Have nots," you are not from this planet. As our government drags us kicking and screaming into the black hole of "Global Governance" or "One World Order" under the guise of a Climate Change Treaty, I believe we will see the gap between the rich and the poor widen. It will become a chasm that will swallow up the middle class worldwide.
The inequities in matters of health have come to the fore recently, resulting in an overhaul of our healthcare system. Despite these unjust differences in our social classes, the differences in developing nations are even more pronounced. Personal and political disparities are also proportionately and intrinsically related to society's inequities between the social classes.
Health, economic status, environmental quality, personal and political freedoms are all interrelated; accounting for the majority of the world's population being forced to live in abject poverty.
Inequities
Health: The third world's chronic health conditions, such as AIDS and malaria, are the result the basic nonexistence of health care. The deplorable quality of water or complete lack of it, affects billions of people worldwide, resulting in death from diarrheal illnesses and severe dehydration. Many from developing nations suffer severe respiratory and eye ailments from cooking on fires in their huts and houses. Many women are contracting lung cancer from the smoky environment which is equal to smoking well over 8 packs of cigarettes per day. The lack of food, polluted water and malnutrition kills between 12 and 15 million children each year.
Environment: 90% of the third world's energy is used for cooking food. More than a 1/4 of the world's population is affected by a wood fuel shortage At the current rate of consumption, by the end of this decade that number will reach over 3 billion (UN/FAO estimate). The perpetual deforestation causes soil erosion, water pollution, and erosion of topsoil which leads to the conversion of forests into deserts. In many regions of Africa, they have to rely on charcoal for cooking, which is a dirty toxic fuel that not only pollutes the environment, but causes severe lung diseases in mothers and their children. In addition, the charcoal is produced from the trees that are being cut in the rain forest, further damaging the environment.
Economics: Few families in developing countries own their own land, so consequently they become indebted and subservient to their government, and even more so when their crops fail. Many families are forced to spend more on cooking fuel than they are able to spend on food. The coal or wood used for cooking one meal costs as much to purchase as does the food for two meals. Because third world governments are broke also, they are unable to assist their indigent citizens.
Freedoms: These people are further imprisoned, not only by their abject poverty, but also by the profound lack of personal and political freedoms. Much like slavery in our country (as early as 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia), many people in third world countries, suffer at the hands of oppressive governments and are victimized by the dominating cultural and religious practices. Most third world countries do not recognize or practice human rights. Their women are enslaved to the task of fuel collection and cooking over a hot, smoky fire, hiking miles to retrieve firewood and water. Women are regarded as second class citizens and few have received much more than a third grade education, sentencing them to a life of servitude.
One Amazing Solution
The facts support a gloom and doom forecast; however there is a possible solution to the inequities present in these dark corners of the world. There must be hope, for without hope the people perish.
There is a solar powered cooking device, the sun oven, that can shed light and hope on a perishing population. Solar cooking ovens can serve as a catalyst to start an economical chain reaction that will be felt around the globe.
Health: The solar oven can enhance the quality of life in the third world in a myriad of ways. The sun oven can pasteurize water, by heating it to well over the necessary level of 160F, killing all water-borne diseases. A sun oven will reach temperatures of over 350F by utilizing the sun's energy and eliminating the need to gather or purchase wood and coal. Besides eliminating the labor or cost required to obtain wood and coal, there is no more exposure to hazardous smoke and fumes, thus eliminating the incidence of respiratory and eye ailments. Sun ovens can be used to disinfect medical instruments by killing all disease germs including the AIDS virus. Importantly, several pots of food can be cooked simultaneously. All foods can be thoroughly cooked, thereby aiding digestion and enhancing nutrient absorption.
Environment: A sun oven eliminates the dependence on fuel wood and charcoal, reducing the rate of deforestation, in turn reducing the rate of soil erosion and carbon footprint (if you believe that stuff). In areas that lack wood for fuel they burn dried animal dung or crop compost. These practices deprive the soil of much of its potential fertilizers, which is eliminated with the use of solar ovens.
Economics: All of the cost of wood, charcoal or kerosene can be eliminated through the use of solar ovens. For a reasonable investment in some simple fabrication tools, a small cottage industry could be established to manufacture the sun oven. This would provide jobs and revenue for a village and low cost ovens for everyone involved throughout the area.
Freedom: For many, the solar oven is a significant labor-saving device since less time would need to be spent in accumulating and transporting fuel wood, charcoal or dung. The sun ovens will free up women and children to allow time for school and other activities. The money that was once spent on fuel can now be spent on food and other essentials.
These impoverished people have been laboring and sweating for years under the very sun that could become the solution to many of their life-threatening problems. Thank God for the sun!
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