With an increasing demand for energy from an increasing population India is currently scrambling to try and increase energy production while at the same time trying to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels. India currently receives 51.1% of its energy from coal which is one of the dirtiest sources of fuel available (Hassan, 2009, 7). India is attempting to invest in more renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass to increase cleaner energy sources. Each source has its positives and negatives; specifically in biomass production the problem is not encouraging people to use biomass or even developing the technology to convert biomass to usable energy. The issue in India is developing a clean and safe method of utilizing biomass. The 2001 Census showed that about 72% of all homes use traditional forms of energy such as firewood, crop residue, wood chips, and cow dung for cooking (Hassan, 2009, 7). For all of India, 40% of the total energy supply comes from energy sources such as wood and cow dung. The rural areas are largely the populations that are using these non-traditional energy forms due to lack of available electricity.
Traditional biofuels have been used for many centuries among rural people but it is now being recognized that the indoor air pollution resonating in these homes is of higher concentrations than outdoor pollution caused by fossil fuels. Indoor pollution is a sign of the inequality between developed and developing nations. While industrialized countries like the US are mostly concerned with outdoor air pollution, the problem in many developing countries is indoor pollution. These health risks are mostly due to the fact that such households are using fixed mud hearths that are made of clay and stone and are closed on three sides. These open stoves are built inside poorly ventilated homes made of wood and crop residues with mud walls and roofs made of wood and crop residues covered with clay. Thus, the smoke from the biofuels has no chimney to escape from and no ventilation (Hassan, 2009) which causes severe indoor air pollution.
Not surprisingly women and children are the most affected by the use of biofuels in homes. Women are the most affected because they spend about 90% of their day inside exposed to biofuels. One study was done in Bishnah, located in Jammu, where 6200 individuals were studied. It was found that there was a 25.3% prevalence of cataracts in the homes that used biofuels as their primary fuels due to the smoke from the combustion. Of those cases, 70.4% were female because of the length of time of exposure (Hassan, 2009). There are many other diseases associated with indoor pollution including respiratory illnesses, cancer, and asthma. The World Health Organization estimated that indoor smoke from biofuels caused about 36% of disability adjusted life years lost from lower respiratory disease, 22% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 1-5% from lung cancer (Wilkinson, 2007, 7). The risk for disease is even greater for infant populations.
Indoor air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of respiratory illnesses, low birth weight, stunting, and infant mortality in babies. One study looked at two rural blocks in Tamil Nadu, observing over 11,000 babies and what the effects of uses of biofuels were on their health from birth to 6 months old. Of all the households that were observed, 92.3% of them used wood or dung as their primary fuel source (Tielsch, 2009, 1351). It was found that smoke from the combustion of biofuels was linked to a 49% increase in risk of low birth weight, 34% increase in respiratory illness, and 21% increase in 6 month infant mortality (Tielsch, 2009, 1351). Exposure was also linked to a 45% and 30% increase in a risk of being underweight and stunting at 6 months of age. One of the main causes for the use of biofuels was low socioeconomic status measurements including roof material, ownership of household items, and maternal education.
India is now using more modern techniques for biomass energy including the use of biogas. Biogas has been used for small, rural and off-grid applications and attempts to provide rural areas with safer alternatives for energy. Biogas is a good alternative because it does not compete for food resources but is produced from animal waste, crop residues, and waste from industrial and domestic activities that is then converted to methane gas. This form of energy can easily be used as a source of heat for cooking, space cooling, refrigeration, and used as fuel in gas lamps. There are 4 million family size biogas plants in the country and it is expected to rise to 12 million plants in the near future (Arora, et. al, 2010, 67). Given the large population and density of cattle, biogas seems to be a good and healthy alternative to traditional biomass methods.
References:
Arora, D.S., et. al. US Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2010).
Indian renewable energy status report. US Department of Energy
Hassan, G., et. al. (2009). Domestic smoke pollution from biomass fuel combustion and
increased prevalence of cataracts in jammu and kashmir, india. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, 2(1): 31. Retrieved from http://www.atmph.org/article.asp?issn=1755-6783;year=2009;volume=2;issue=1;spage=31;epage=31;aulast=Hassan
Tielsch, J.M., et. al. (2009). Exposure to indoor biomass fuel and tobacco smoke and risk of
adverse reproductive outcomes, mortality, respiratory morbidity and growth among newborn infants in south india. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38: 1351-1363. Retrieved from http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/5/1351.abstract
Wilkinson, P., Smith, K.R., Joffe, M., and Haines, A. (2007). A global perspective on energy:
health effects and injustices. The Lancet, 370(9591): 965-978. Retrieved from http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/krsmith/?p=386
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