Jean Kim Chaix

A new alternative fuel project recently launched in Rwanda promises to combat the deforestation of national parks where mountain gorillas live. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) and Art of Conservation, have partnered together to introduce the new alternative fuel technology–fuel briquettes composed of recycled materials that can be made easily with simple wooden presses–to the communities living near mountain gorilla habitat.

“To me this is one of the top three most important things for Haiti,” said Marc Levy, a Columbia University professor of international and public affairs working on a joint effort of Columbia and its Earth Institute with the United Nations Environment Program.

On links between environmental and public health; Rebuilding Haiti from the soil microbes up; A humanitarian aid petri dish; Jared Diamond’s checklist for collapse & Haiti as vision what could be in store for the rest of us; Charcoal cartels, Amy Smith’s better answer & Nicholas Kristof’s compost toilet tour

Mountain Gorillas Veterinary Program farm partner Immaculée Uwimana from Rwanda and Justice Mvuyekure from Uganda were both looking for business opportunities that could be operated on small land holdings. We had recently become aware of a program operating in the DRC where byproducts were processed into an alternative fuel source aimed to compete with charcoal for family use. After some discussions, we decided to travel to the training location in Rumangabo, DRC. Read more

A seemingly out-of-place artifact discovered along the banks of the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, USA) offers a cautionary tale of how the rise and fall of nations is often linked to their natural resources.

Malawi’s protected areas generate more than 60 percent of the charcoal consumed in the country’s four largest cities.