Inventor Sacrifices Family, Personal Fortune in Bid to Cut Carbon Emissions, Help World's Poor
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 12.29.07
If you’ve ever wondered like I have about the actual value of a piece of advice given to you by a friend long ago, you might be intrigued to discover that I recently found out that a good friend of mine’s dad once gave me advice worth my wife, family and approximately $2.5 million.
How do I know? Well, apparently that’s the price that a professor, inventor, and scientist named Rene Nunez Suarez paid to figure out precisely what my friend’s dad told me almost a decade ago while sitting in his den late one night when I was still in college; “Charity begins at home.”
It seems that Suarez embarked on his self-imposed journey towards enlightenment while struggling to create a cooking device which utilizes 95% less energy than traditional cooking devices that people in poor areas of the world use. And that adventure started after discovering that 65% of the people in his native El Salvador still utilize wood as their primary source of fuel for cooking when he was asked to help write a book back in the mid-90’s for a friend.
His original goal was simple enough… Invent a device that enables the world’s poor to cook cheaply and cleanly without deforesting some of the most important, forested areas on Earth. But he ran into more than a few problems that led to mounds of personal trouble.
First off was the task of actually inventing the device, but by persevering through both trial and tribulation he actually came up with one capable of doing exactly what he wanted, and even received a U.S. patent on it.
Unfortunately, what he discovered soon afterwards was that while environmental groups were more than happy to stand and applaud from the sidelines they simply didn’t have the funding to make his dream happen. If they did, they simply chose not to use their resources to fund someone else’s endeavor. And government officials in El Salvador showed little interest in the project despite it's benefits.
Of course, as his wife had pointed out before she left the poor themselves don’t have the $325 to lay out for even the most efficient cooking device imaginable; so without a potential customer base there’s no business on Earth that will touch his idea because they can’t turn a profit.
Now he’s found himself at the age of 61 without his wife, two children, and his not inconsiderable personal fortune of $2.5 million; much of which was lost in the bitter divorce proceedings with his wife resulting from his obsession with his invention to help the world’s poor. And he's back living with his mom to top it all off.
But amazingly, he’s still working to make his brilliantly worthwhile device go global because he’s become convinced that the only way to win back his two grown children is by proving to them that he was right all along as to what his invention could do.
And I’m certainly willing to wish him success, but I’d be willing to bet that his kids really don’t care much at all whether his invention succeeds or falls on its face. Rather, only if they are, in fact, worth more to him than inventing a device that can potentially change the world.
I guess there’s really no way for any of us to know if that’s even the case… Maybe he could start by saying so if it’s true?
via:: The Seattle Times
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Utilizes just 95% of the energy of a traditional cooking stove? That doesn't seem like much of a big deal (or did you mean 5%?)
In the original article it says that his device uses 95% less energy; thats 5% of the energy of traditional devices, not 95% of the energy of traditional devices.
Man, I feel sorry for this guy. He's already been beat at his own game, by the solar oven.
Thanks for telling us, but you did not tell us the name of the product or a website.
Call me out on this one, but your angle on this inventor focuses almost exclusively on his relationship with his children and wife. The fact that the stove he has invented is a technological jewel seems to have been pushed into the wings.
As for facts, which some people like, the phrase "create a cooking device which utilizes just 95% of the energy " should read "create a cooking device which utilizes just 95% LESS of the energy ". Ah words, words.
As for "you might be intrigued to discover that I recently found out..." I have to confess that I'm not the slightest bit intrigued.
If you want to do an article about your interpretation of "Charity begins at home" then please do so but I'd say there are many better examples you can use than our Rene Nunez Suarez.
Another minor fact that may as well be presented is the fact that Mr Suarez middle child, Mauricio, supports his work while admitting the personal cost. This fact apparently which didn't merit space in your article, actually I'm annoyed enough now that I won't call it an article any more just a hatchet-job.
Put (site:.latimes.com "this stove cooks") into Google for a more balanced, nay A balanced article.
/ Colm
It sounds like through all his perseverance and altruistic motivation he realized that the real problem of the world is not the death, rape, exploitation, deforestation, hunger, etc. but the capitalistic yearning for profit which ends up causing the death, rape, exploitation, deforestation, hunger, etc.
Hey Colm, nice to hear from you...
First off, I'd made an accidental error in wording that led to confusion on your part, and it has been fixed, nay, almost an hour now. So I do apologize...
But, the intent was not to do an article on charity or anything else, truth is I was amazed by the story and realized it's a real lesson of the potential pitfalls presented to people out to change the world.
Obsession with anything, even something so positive, can lead to tremendous costs in other areas of one's life and I don't think it's unfair to help people realize that via treehugger given the context of the situation in which he finds himself.
I also felt the story highlighted how unhelpful people can be regardless of the merit or the potential of your invention when and if it fails to benefit them immediately and directly, the Planet or anyone else be damned. So I thought it could serve perhaps as a word of caution to others in similar situations. Though I strongly encourage anyone to pursue their dreams, albeit within reason.
Now, if you believe that's not worth examining as well, in the context of what this gentleman has experienced, then I can appreciate your point of view. Though I strongly disagree with your opinion.
As well, the article in the Seattle Times made no mention of the middle child supporting him despite the problems.
But regardless, I hope you Have a Happy, and Healthy New Year.
-kenny luna
Hi Kenny,
Since you did nicely wish me a happy New Year I'll take back the use of the words "hatchet-job". Peace to all men. My slant on the story is that we should be holding Mr Suarez on our shoulders and saying "this is a man who has walked the walk". That said, he may be in part responsible for the lack of financial support he's received but its not the first time that technology that benefits the poor most directly has been ignored by capital. Also, I admit that the $325 price tag seems steep but I haven't been able to find any references that back that up or explain it.
But getting back to the importance of what he has done. According to http://www.sunoven.com/global.asp, the annual wood consumption for cooking throughout developing countries is 1,000 pounds ( 416kg ) of wood per person. ( If anyone has a better reference please put it up ) Burning a kilo of dry wood releases 1.8 kg CO2 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_sink ). So let's say one stove is used for 4 people. With this stove we go from 1664kg of wood to 83 kg or from 3 metric tonnes of CO2 released to 150kg. So if we're saving ~3tonnes CO2/year and the stove lasts 5 years ( this hopefully is conservative ) each stove is avoiding 15 tonnes CO2. With CO2 offsetting running around $20 per tonne the €325 cost is almost sorted right there if some offsetting companies thought his business wortwhile. Hell, I might drop Mr Suarez a line about this thing.
So finally Kenny, thank you, even if we differed on my interpretation you've inspired me to spend a small part of my afternoon looking for facts, and I just love that.
Happy New Year to you too.
/ Colm
Concerning carbon offsets for efficient stoves, an example is the project lead by http://www.carbonneutral.com/projects/projects.asp?id=890
They claim 0.6 tonnes CO2 reduction per annum per stove.
You folks seem to be missing the problem.
1 the locals are deforesting the area for cooking fuel. this guy is trying to make a cooking source that can be used anytime that is 95 % efficient.
2 he is trying to market it to the poor who have no money.
3 his family has abandoned him and his cause.
4 No business will invest in his cause.
I feel for him i really do but there is a time where you should give up on an idea for now and do more research.
D~W
Colm, I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to figure out the carbon offsetting angle. I hadn't thought about the possibilities of him teaming up with a carbon offsetting company until you mentioned it, and that does seem to be a fascinating possibility.
And I agree that he should be held up as a shining example of ingenuity and perseverance in the face of an immense and looming global disaster.
What frustrates me is the fact that here we have someone who actually has figured out a huge improvement both in the everyday lives of millions of poor people and in the reduction of CO2, and yet due to vagaries beyond his control it's just not being put into practice. Even despite immense personal sacrifice on his part which I think he probably should have avoided, quite frankly.
But I suspect it's part of the lesson to be learned from his experience that we reallly can't depend on individuals who sacrifice everything they have to solve the problem of global warming. We've got to have everyone doing their little part to make it happen. And we've got to have cooperation so that geniuses who do come up with stuff like this can see it happen.
I mean really, do the business people, non-profit folks or governmental types in El Salvador care a bit about all he's sacrificed to come up with a product that actually does what we need it to do? Apparently not, though I'm sure they're all busy pushing their own versions of a solution to the problem. And he's the one stuck picking up the pieces of a personal life that's basically gone through a nuclear event as a result of it.
But I admit that I wouldn't be surprised a bit if some group like the Gates foundation decided to back it now. I mean really, the guy has gotten more media attention than he ever anticipated out of all of this, and the device, at least from the article I read, actually works. So who knows who's going to be calling his mom's house to speak to him...
And someone should, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.
Be well,
-kenny
I can't understand the $325.00 price tag for what looks similar to what is offered for less than $50 at this website: http://www.littlbug.com/. And any third world inhabitant can find a large can and cut holes in it to approximate this design. The easiest solution in my mind is to hand out leaflets showing how to build your own efficient "can stove" and use the leaflet to start the first fire.
I to am rather confused by all the personal information that this article holds. I would of liked to know exactly how this device works. Saving that much energy is good for everyone, including the really wealthy, who could afford it. Then the profits could be returned to purchase these for the good people of El Salvador. The more produced the lower the cost of manufacturing would be.
Green Is Everywhere!