Dear Diary,
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 Protection
Grade IP65 Pressure Switch 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!