Did you know that cooking with wood and coal could kill you?
WHO warns that using these types of materials when cooking can be equivalent to breathing the smoke of 400 cigarettes
Pollution in homes is usually a forgotten problem. This type of contamination tends to affect women and children more, who stay longer in homes. This is why, according to WHO , it is considered a gender problem because it ends up affecting especially women, who develop diseases such as strokes, chronic lung obstruction, lung cancer, and heart diseases.
Leer en español: ¿Sabías que cocinar con madera y carbón podría matarte?
This organization reports that in 2012, 60% of premature deaths due to home pollution occurred in women and children. Unfortunately, in developing countries, polluting fuels such as coal and harmful materials to the respiratory system such as firewood continue to be used.
Cooking with these fuels could end up being lethal because of the diseases they can bring. For this reason, WHO explains that work must be done on low cost and efficient solutions to deal with this problem.
What can be done?
On the one hand, the solution must have a gender differential approach because women, whose role is usually at home, are the ones who cook with these materials. Additionally, children should be considered when looking for a solution taking IGNORE INTO account they spend a lot of time in their homes, especially in early ages.
On the other hand, considering that the problem occurs in low-income nations, the solutions must be low-cost and accessible to the most vulnerable populations.
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In this regard, the proposal of the World Health Organization is to create access to forms of clean energy such as wind, solar, mareomatriz, geothermal and hydraulic energy, among others.
How are we doing in Latin America?
Currently, in Latin America, a region that faces social and economic challenges, several renewable energy projects are being carried out to diversify the energy matrix.
For example, in Mexico, in San Antonio, a wind farm capable of producing 424 megawatts was inaugurated. In Colombia, on the other hand, a similar project will be developed in the department of La Guajira.
In Brazil and Chile, there are other examples of the production and use of renewable energies. The Latin American giant, according to the ESG Forum, received $ 156 million dollars from the New Development Bank to carry out two projects: one for wind energy and another for solar energy.
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In Chile, the energy produced from renewable sources went from 5% to 18% this year. According to PV Tech, by 2030, 60% of the energy will come from a renewable matrix.
Renewable energy’s benefits
In addition to correcting the problem of home pollution, the implementation of renewable energy also helps reduce the impact of climate change, reduce dependence on fossil fuels that are not renewable (gas, oil), and opens a labor market that could also contribute to the economic development of these countries.
Another factor that should be considered is that these elements are mostly inexhaustible, so they are sustainable and friendly to the environment. The sun's rays, the tides and the wind are available constantly and free of charge.
LatinAmerican Post | Marcela Peñaloza
Translated from “¿Sabías que cocinar con madera y carbón podría matarte?”
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