Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce The Clean Cookstoves Support Act, which addresses a serious global environmental and public health issue. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by my friend and colleague, Senator Durbin. Nearly half the world's population cooks food over open fires or inefficient, polluting, and unsafe cookstoves, using firewood, dung, or coal as fuel. Smoke from these traditional cookstoves and open fires is associated with a number of chronic and acute diseases, with women and young children affected disproportionately. The World Health Organization estimates cookstove smoke to be one of the top five threats to public health in poor, developing countries. This smoke may account for nearly two million deaths annually in the developing world, which is more than the deaths from malaria, tuberculosis, or HIV. Traditional cookstoves also create serious environmental impacts. The amount of biomass cooking fuel required each year can reach up to two tons per family, and local environmental degradation can result where demand for fuel outstrips the natural regrowth of resources. Recent studies show that emissions of black carbon, or common soot, from biomass cookstoves significantly contribute to climate change, second only to carbon dioxide in impact. These stoves should be replaced with modern alternatives to reverse these alarming health and environmental trends.…”