World Bank · Eco-Chick

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Eco Chick Starre Vartan to Speak at The World Bank

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by Starre Vartan · 12/09/08

ecofashion, Events, World Bank

Bring the Trees Back to Armenia!

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by Starre Vartan · 10/15/07

Two different regions in Armenia, Shikahogh Reserve, which is now protected thanks to the work of the Armenian Tree Project and other groups (L) and the Gabion (L).

I’ve been a big fan of the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) since I first wrote about them for E Magazine a couple of years ago, and it’s not just because I’m 1/4 Armenian. The truth is, like most mixed-ethnicity (I’m also English, Lebanese, German and Scottish, whew!) Americans decended from immigrants I don’t feel particularly attached to any one country. I’ve certainly never been to Armenia and know little of the culture there. But reforesting a country that has had it’s forests decimated by people just trying to keep warm is not only important for the people that live there, but also in the fight against global warming and to improve air quality worldwide.

This map shows the deforestation in Armenia; the dark green is where forests exist now, the light green is where they were historically.

Over 70% of Armenia’s trees are gone (trees used to cover 25% of the land there, now they cover less than 8%) leading to erosion, landslides, flooding, loss of wildlife habitat, and degraded farmland. Trees were, and still are being cut down to heat homes. So importantly, not only does the ATP plant new trees but they also educate people (especially young people) to care for their local ecosystem, and the group is also working to find alternative fuels to help people keep warm without resorting to chopping down trees.

Gratuitous cute Armenian girl with apricots. Love her hat!

A little background….

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia sought its full independence in a war with Azerbaijan. From 1991 to 1994 economic blockades prevented heating oil from coming into the country. “That resulted in massive burning of wood, from furniture to books to trees in forests and parks,” explains Jeff Masarjian, executive director of the nonprofit Armenia Tree Project, founded in 1994. “With little if any insulation in houses, and no alternative sources of fuel for heat and cooking, the people had little choice. Poverty is the greatest enemy of the forest.”
Although heating oil is now available, deforestation remains an ongoing problem because firewood is often the more affordable choice. “If the deforestation isn’t reversed immediately, the World Bank estimates that all the forest could be gone in 20 to 50 years,” says Masarjian. “Eighty percent of Armenia could turn to desert.”

So, if you know someone with deep pockets, or you have a bit of change floating around in yours, consider giving to the Armenia Tree Project. Right now a guy named Harry Mangurian is matching all donations to the group, so whatever you donate will be automatically doubled. With the money 33,000 new trees will be planted, which not only improved the environment, but gives needed money to low-income Armenians. Instead of being under such economic duress that they log trees illegally, folks will be paid to plant trees instead. A win-win!

For reference in case you don’t know where Armenia is…I always forget!
Armenia is a mountainous country located between Turkey and Azerbaijan, above Iran and below Georgia.

alternative fuel, book, books, car, deforestation, donations, eating, farm, flooding, fur, Furniture, giving, Global Warming, habitat, Home, local, magazine, media, oil, poverty, reference, Tea, trees, Wildlife, wood, World Bank

How to Light Up Africa?

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by Starre Vartan · 09/04/07

In this image from the Smithsonian, you can see the lights of Europe at night, whereas most of Africa is dark.

As an inveterate night owl, reading this article in the Independent really made me think. The piece makes the point that most Africans don’t have access to electricity in the form of a grid, as we do here (where we seem to do our very best to waste it, but anyway), and therefore aren’t able to work much outside daylight hours. I can’t imagine being unable to work half the night away, whether I’m typing away on my laptop, watching a movie, reading, even vacuuming and doing yoga. I would certainly be less productive, and I wouldn’t be able to run this site, period since I do most of my writing for it between 11pm and 2am.

So how do we give the African people the ability to work all night if they want to, without sucking up fossil fuels to run these fun blinking machines? Setting up a grid like ours would not only be an environmental disaster, but it is a financial impossibility for impoverished nations.

Many of the continent’s poorest people are dependent on kerosene lamps or candles, and typically spend at least a 10th of their income on lighting
their shacks. The lamps often kick out more smoke than light, and there are frequent stories of huts going up in flames as they get knocked over. People
with a bit of extra cash may invest in a small diesel generator, but the extra illumination and the reduced danger does not quite compensate for the
noise and the polluting fumes.

The World Bank wants to sell LED’s, and suggests hooking them up to people-powered machines. LED’s use less than a watt of power to create light to read by, and while we may only be familiar in them for small lighting tasks, the technology for LED’s has come a long way, meaning they could provide an answer to part of Africa’s lighting puzzle.

Lighting Africa officially launches on 4 September, when organisers will unveil a competition for the design and delivery of low-cost, green lighting
products for low-income consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 350 companies have already expressed an interest – from Africa-based small
businesses to multinationals like Philips.

Unfortunately, there’s no mention of solar power in this article, though this would seem to be the obvious answer, as much of the poorest parts of Africa are known for their direct access to equatorial (meaning very regular) solar energy. Large hydropower projects ARE mentioned, without any commentary provided on the environmental destruction of this form of energy generation, which would seem to be a major oversight in the article. It sent a shudder down my spine to think of Africa’s largest river, the Congo, dammed along it’s long and winding path, which would disturb all the ecosystems along its route if regular flooding events were to be eliminated. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be money enough for this kind of huge hydropower project, so I’m hoping in the meantime solar panels become cheap enough so that Africans who want to stay up half the night reading don’t have to sacrifice their environment to do so.

Thanks to RemyC for the link!