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Power cuts

I was woken abruptly at 5.30 am today by the shrieking of next door’s burglar alarm.  This had been triggered by a power cut I realised when I saw the flashing light on our clock radio.   Sunshine was...

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Back to School

Today my daughter starts 6th Form. A fully fledged, almost grown up, teenager with great ambitions for the future, a pragmatic approach to school work and a huge capacity for friendship. I am a very...

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SCORE stove success at Kathmandu University

Today I had the privilege of receiving an email from a very excited University Professor at Kathmandu University in Nepal, Professor Bim Prasad Shrestha, regarding the start of the SCORE stove in their...

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The Great Peruvian Bake Off!

If, like me, you’re filled with excitement at the thought of tonight’s final of The Great British Bake Off, I think you’ll enjoy this story of how the fortunes of Peruvian baker Luz Marina Cusci...

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Access to energy, climate change, weird weather, renewables and technology...

Access to energy, climate change, weird weather, renewables and technology justice Listening to the news last night 4 out of 5 of my list were covered –fierce floods, devastating droughts in the USA,...

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Is ‘Energy Literacy’ vital for poor communities?

Energy literacy is a relatively new term being used to describe knowledge of the basics of energy.  It has strong associations with sustainability and the efficient use of energy by consumers. Every...

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“Roasted, toasted, fried and grilled”

No, this isn’t a recipe index, but a warning about the effects of climate change. “ …..unless action was taken to combat global warming, the next generation would be “roasted, toasted, fried and...

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Whatever happened to the hydrogen economy?

One of the questions that was asked the other day was whatever happened to the hydrogen economy? It was a popular subject about a decade ago when it was thought that we would all be powering industry...

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Meeting the energy needs of the poor

How many PhD students does it take to change a lightbulb?  I don’t know but I heard plenty of suggestions last week! Attending the Micro perspectives for decentralized energy supply conference, I...

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LPG A Clean Energy Source in North Darfur

On 25th March 2013 Practical Action Sudan launched a new report titled ‘Poor People’s Energy Outlook (PPEO) 2013’. The third edition of the publication of the PPEO series prioritises energy issues from...

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Killer kerosene

A million deaths each year are attributable to the kerosene lamp. I had no idea just how dangerous a simple lighting device could be!  But, as a mother, I quickly learned that the close proximity of...

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What’s cooking in the stoves sector?

“We have reached a tipping point” – so says Radha Mutiaha, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. What she means is that stoves and cooking are finally on the radar, attracting...

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Energy: transforming lives

There are still more than 1.3 billion people living without access to any form of electricity, and 2.7 billion people cooking on open fires, exposing themselves and their families to potentially deadly...

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New York and the future of Global Development

Last week in New York the United Nations General Assembly came to an important agreement about how global development will be shaped in years up to 2030. It was agreed that there will be a ‘single...

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Meeting Godfrey Dongaronga

Last week Practical Action and ZERO hosted a workshop in Harare on the UN’s Sustainable Energy For All initiative. I had some reservations about spending three sunny days in a conference room but my...

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Just because we can exploit nature, doesn’t mean we should

Were you horrified by Simon’s blog on the World Energy Congress? I was! The energy industry is putting forward two scenarios, the first seeing a 30% increase in global energy consumption, the second an...

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Biogas in Viet Nam –”All good…..no bad!”

On a recent trip to Viet Nam I had the chance to visit the house of Mrs Le Thoa, about half an hour from the capital city, Hanoi.  She had had a household biogas digester installed in about 2001 by a...

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What’s cooking in India?

Yesterday I attended a workshop in Delhi, on clean household cooking in India – the first of its kind – attended by a range of organisations and hosted by the Minister of New and Renewable Energy...

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Fighting myths and competitions

Launch of coalition to bolster public support for renewable energy I attended the 4th annual assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi today. IRENA is a relatively new...

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Innocent abroad

I love going to meetings at the innocent drinks’ offices.  Apart the from the funky surroundings (hanging basket chairs, fake grass, table tennis tables in the kitchen) where else do you get given a...

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