Fuel sources aren’t normally considered a health concern by most people (unless you’re thinking about the health of the planet, of course), but they most certainly are. Fracking for natural gas ruins the water, burning fossil fuels worsens air quality and increases global warming…eventually our own health will suffer along with the planet. Finding better ways to use energy and share that information with the masses is important, and that is exactly what Paul Wheaton is trying to do – with a little help from Kickstarter.com.
Wheaton has launched a project that compiles a vast amount of information on the usefulness, design, and implementation of rocket mass heaters on four DVDs. Rocket stoves are a type of wood-burning stove that use a tenth of the wood a conventional woodstove does, yet produce one thousandth of the air pollution, thanks to its reburner technology. His kickstarter pitch is to raise money for animations, editing, and other visual aids to enhance and produce the DVD set.
Any amount of donation to Wheaton’s project is welcome, but as with all Kickstarters, there are better perks for higher donation levels. For example, for as little as $40, you can have your name in the “cast that got edited out” list in the credits, while a $4000 donation will get you credit as “Supreme Executive Producer with Bacon, Cheese and Sparkles” (while Wheaton takes his permaculture very seriously, he also understands that humor sells).
Wheaton runs Permies.com and Richsoil.com, websites that are devoted to permaculture and sustainable living practices; he describes permaculture as “a more symbiotic relationship with nature,” that allows for maximum land yields with very little expense, labor, or need for petrochemical fertilizers, or petroleum burning machinery. When asked what permaculture means to him on the Institute of Urban Ecology’s February 21st podcast, Wheaton joked that “permaculture is a more symbiotic relationship with nature so that I can be even lazier,” but he admitted that there are many schools of thought under the permaculture umbrella. Rocket stoves are just one part of the many permaculture technologies that encourage sustainable and responsible practices for a cleaner, healthier planet. Hopefully, Wheaton’s DVD set will open the door for those who have always wanted better wood-burning stoves for less cost, but just never knew how to build one. In the end, that knowledge could be very good for the planet.
Enjoy this article? Subscribe above and share your enjoyment with your friends, or follow me on Facebook – you’ll be the first to know when the next article is up!
Comments