VOA标准英语--Aid Groups Meeting in Kenya Promote 'Clean Cookstoves'

 

Aid Groups Meeting in Kenya Promote 'Clean Cookstoves'

Roseline Amondi is making githeri, a traditional dish of maize¹ and beans, for her small restaurant in the informal settlement of Kibera in Kenya’s capital.

She places her sufuria, or cooking pot, on what is called a “clean cookstove,” powered by biogas harnessed from the community toilet. 

Amondi says she now pays one-tenth of what she used to when cooking.

“Me, I have a small hotel [restaurant]. I was using wood," she said. "You can just see that sufuria - it is black. And now, I can cook with gas; it is a pride on my side. In fact, I am very happy, because even charcoal², we buy, and also even wood, we buy at a higher price. But this one is only 10 shillings.”

Saving money is one of the many benefits of clean cookstoves, which use natural gas, solar power or electricity, and can also utilize³ solid fuels such as firewood or charcoal more efficiently⁴.

“When you have a clean cookstove, the level of particulate⁵ emissions⁶, the smoke that you are breathing, is reduced drastically, and therefore you get the health benefits from using a clean cookstove,” said Radha Muthiah, the executive director of the Washington-based Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.

Clean cookstoves feature chimneys and other ventilation structures, grills⁷ to hold the firewood in place, and insulation⁸.

Traditional cookstoves and open fires release carbon dioxide, methane⁹, and other harmful emissions.

“Traditional stoves can also create indoor air pollution," said Laura Clough, a market researcher with the Global Village Energy Partnership¹⁰. "People often cook in small spaces that are not well ventilated, and the smoke and emissions given off can lead to long-term health consequences.”

These consequences include pneumonia¹¹, chronic¹² obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Emphysema, cataracts¹³, bronchitis and cardiovascular disease are also risks.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly two million people, 500,000 in East Africa alone, die prematurely¹⁴ every year of illnesses arising from indoor air pollution. 

Aid groups are working on promoting and subsidizing clean cookstoves primarily for rural households, which rely heavily on firewood and charcoal to cook their food.

Between 2006 and 2011, GIZ disseminated¹⁵ 1.3 million stoves on a commission basis all across Kenya, saving up to 50 percent of firewood per stove.

“If you calculate that, it’s about 1.4 million tonnes per year saved, which is equivalent to 78,000 hectares of tree cover saved,” said Anna Ingwe, the coordinator¹⁶ of the Kenya Cookstove Program at the German aid agency GIZ.

An important consideration in a rapidly-deforesting region.

1 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

2 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

3 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

4 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

5 particulate   

adj.微小的；n.微粒，粒子

参考例句：

• A special group was organized to dig up the particulate of the case.成立了一个专门小组来查明该案件的各个细节。
• Lungs retain relatively insoluble particulate material.肺脏内留有不溶解的颗粒物质。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 grills   

n.烤架( grill的名词复数 )；（一盘）烤肉；格板；烧烤餐馆v.烧烤( grill的第三人称单数 )；拷问，盘问

参考例句：

• Backyard barbecue grills could be proscribed. 里弄烤肉店会被勒令停业的。 来自辞典例句
• Both side inlets have horizontal grills and incorporate impressive fog lamps. 两侧进气口的水平烤架并纳入令人印象深刻的雾灯。 来自互联网

8 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

9 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

12 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

13 cataracts   

n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障

参考例句：

• The rotor cataracts water over the top of the machines. 回转轮将水从机器顶上注入。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Cataracts of rain flooded the streets. 倾盆大雨弄得街道淹水。 来自辞典例句

14 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

15 disseminated   

散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
• Berkovitz had contracted polio after ingesting a vaccine disseminated under federal supervision. 伯考维茨在接种了在联邦监督下分发的牛痘疫苗后传染上脊髓灰质炎。

16 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？