Friday 14 December 2007

FoST is RUNNER UP in the World Challenge 2007!

Dear everyone,I am very happy to tell you that FoST is one of the 3 finalists in the World Challenge 2007! As runner up FoST has won $10.000 in the global competition organized by BBC World, Shell and Newsweek. With more than a 1000 nominations / participants from around the world, it is a fantastic achievement for this small, but very dedicated Nepalese organization!Because of surgery to his back Sanu Kaji Shrestha couldn't travel from Nepal to Holland, so he asked me to represent him at the World Challenge ceremony in the Hague to accept the prize. Which as you can imagine was an honor for me.Thanks to the exposure in Newsweek and on BBC World over the last month, Sanu has already received more than a dozen request from countries in Africa, Asia, South America and even in the Pacific of people and organizations who now want to replicate FoST's technologies, projects and ideas!This month Sanu Kaji Shrestha is invited to Cambodia to teach his skills and share is knowledge with the Grady Grossman school. And this is only the beginning...For us this is a dream come true, because now Sanu can help the Nepalese rural and urban poor, while protecting the environment, but he can share his work with the rest of the world who are facing the same daily struggles and hardships in life. FoST's solutions to these global problems are so simple and cheap, but highly effective. This small Nepalese organization is becoming an example to many countries in the world.I would like to thank you all for your support and for your vote. I am very grateful!Do not forget to read the article about the 3 finalists in Newsweek this week. (with a boy on the cover - The other Afghanistan). There's an article about the World Challenge 2007 and there is even a little booklet in the middle which profiles the 12 finalists. There is also a closing thought from Sanu Kaji on page 18 of the little booklet.Warm regards and again, THANK YOU!!Sandra WijnveldtIf any of you want to be a part of this great project, maybe by helping FoST with fundraising, volunteering or by making a donation so that they can focus even more on their efforts, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find our contact details and email addresses on www.fost-nepal.org/ or on my personal website: http://www.gorpproductions.com/

Nepalese programme won World Challenge 07

COOKING WITHOUT GAS
Foundation for Sustainable Technologies (FoST) - NEPALThe Masarang Palm Sugar Factory-->
In 1995, Sanu Kaji Shrestha ran out of cooking gas. So too did nearly everyone else in Kathmandu, as a countrywide shortage set in. Demand was so great Sanu had to take three days off work to queue up for more fuel. This first-hand experience of his country’s dependence on external energy supplies set Sanu thinking. He began to look into sustainable energy technologies for the domestic market, researching existing designs and adapting them for the Nepalese market. In 2001 he retired from his day job to concentrate on bringing low-cost, high-efficiency energy technologies to Nepal’s rural and urban poor. Measures developed to date include simple yet ingenious solar cookers and briquette presses to make smokeless fuel from waste materials.
For further information click here: http://www.fost-nepal.org/

World Challenge 2007 Down to 12 Finalists


by Earth 911 on October 9th, 2007
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This is the third year of the World Challenge, brought to you by BBC World and Newsweek in association with Shell, and the 12 finalists have been named. Voting is open now through November 16, with the winner being announced on December 4.
The winning project will receive $20,000 from Shell to benefit its cause. The difference between this project and similar initiatives such as the American Express Members Project is that the World Challenge is recognizing and funding established projects that are already making a difference in the community instead of concepts that can make a difference.
The finalists are spread around the world from South America to Asia, and range in scope of work from sustainable energy for cooking to reforestation to using recycled products in fashion. While Earth 911 does not endorse any of these projects over another, there is no cost to vote so you may want to check out the finalists.

Climate Change at a Glance


Increased warming: Eleven of the last twelve years rank among the warmest years in global surface temperature since 1850. The rate of warming averaged over the last 50 years is nearly twice that for the last 100 years. The average global temperature went up by about 0.74°C during the 20th Century with the warming affecting land more than ocean areas.
There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: Carbon dioxide is the dominant contributor to current climate change and its atmospheric concentration has increased from a pre-industrial value of 278 parts-per million (ppm) to 379 in 2005.
More water, but not everywhere: More precipitation has been observed in the eastern parts of North and South America, northern Europe and northern and central Asia in recent decades. But the Sahel, the Mediterranean, southern Africa and parts of southern Asia have experienced drying. More intense and longer droughts have been observed over wider areas since the 1970s.
Sea level is rising: The report is highly confident that the rate of observed sea level rise increased from the 19th to 20th century, and the total 20th century rise is estimated to be 0.17 metre. Geological observations indicate that sea level rise over the previous 2,000 years was far less. The average temperature of the global ocean has increased to depths of at least 3,000 metres.
Less snow cover: Snow cover is decreasing in most regions, particularly in spring. The maximum extent of frozen ground in the winter/spring season has decreased by about 7 per cent in the Northern Hemisphere since 1900, and on average rivers that freeze do so some 5.8 days later than a century ago and their ice breaks-up 6.5 days earlier.
Glaciers are melting: Mountain glaciers and snow cover have declined, on average, in both hemispheres, and have contributed to sea level rise by 0.77 millimetres a year from 1993 to 2003. Shrinkage of the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica have contributed to a sea level rise of 0.4 millimetres a year between 1993 and 2003.
Arctic is warming: Average Arctic temperatures increased at almost twice the global average rate in the past 100 years. Satellite data since 1978 show that the average Arctic sea ice extent has shrunk by 2.7 per cent per decade.
New Projections Indicate Faster Warming…
Continued greenhouse gas emissions at or above the current rates would cause further warming and induce many changes in the global climate system during the 21st century that would very likely be larger than those observed during the 20th century.
The degree of warming depends on the degree of emissions: If carbon dioxide concentrations were stabilized at 550 ppm — double the pre-industrial levels — the average warming expected would likely be in the range of 2-4.5°C, with the best estimate of 3°C, or 5.4°F. A warming of 0.2°C per decade is expected for each of the next two decades for a range of scenarios that do not include deliberate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Other greenhouse gases contribute to warming and if their combined effect were equivalent to a carbon dioxide level of 650 ppm, the global climate would "likely" warm by 3.6°C, while a level of 750 ppm would produce warming of 4.3°C. Projections depend on factors such as economic growth, population, new technologies and other factors.
...and Greater Consequences
Warmer global temperatures are already causing profound changes in many of the earth's natural systems. Approximately 20-30 per cent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5°C.
A temperature increase of 3°C during this century would have largely negative consequences for biodiversity ecosystems that produce essential goods and services, such as water and food supply.
As a result of warmer temperatures, springtime events are occurring earlier, such as increased run-off and peak discharge in many glacier- and snow-fed rivers, "greening" of vegetation and migration and egg-laying by birds. More animal and plant species have also been observed shifting toward higher latitudes.
More precipitation in the high latitudes: Increases in precipitation are very likely in the high latitudes while decreases are likely in most subtropical land regions.
Model based estimates for sea-level rise due to ocean expansion and glacier melt by the end of the century (compared to 1989-1999 levels) have narrowed from previous assessments to 18-58 cm. However, larger values cannot be ruled out if recently observed movements of ice sheets were to increase as temperature rises.
Contraction of the Greenland ice sheet is projected to contribute to sea level rise into the 22nd century and the ice sheet could face complete elimination if global average warming of 1.9-4.6°C is maintained for a millennium. In that case, sea level would rise by up to 7 metres.