What is this Blog and How is it Used?

Dr. Charlie Sellers maintains this page as a resource for people interested in fuel efficient stoves - particularly improved biomass cook stoves for the developing world (to reduce deforestation, minimize the impact of stoves on climate change, reduce indoor air pollution and its effects on health, increase food security by reducing people's expenditures for fuel, and just to make the lives of people a little simpler and easier). My purpose is to try and collect the best existing FES stove information from the web and integrate these links into meaningful collections (woven together with some discussion - for people new to the field, or for easy reference when we are on the road), to have a place for periodic reports on new research and development on FES issues, and to serve as a discussion area. I and many other researchers post on more extensive on-line sites, such as the Biomass Cooking Stoves Discussion Group, but I felt there was a need for agglomerations with discussion of existing knowledge (as well as a place to highlight some of my own research and interests).

Blogs are beautifully easy to use - as a registered user you just come to the blog, click on the Blogger icon in the top left corner, type in your password (this keeps blog spammers from interfering with us), select "create" a posting, and start typing. We'll start off with the basics (just cut and paste things into the space), resulting is a linear look, and then I'll improve on it - with attachments, combining of posts on similar topics if that is appropriate and helpful, other pages off the main one for special topics, and so on. There should be a way to post just about any type of information, but sometimes we'll have to figure it out. For now try posting things like good web links, books that you feel are appropriate (add a little review of them), questions or comments for the group, photos, announcements (upcoming events, etc.), and more. A blog is only worth having if you use it regularly. If you wish use the "edit HTML" option to fine tune your posting, and always feel free to post photos using the photo icon. Look at other blog pages (including their HTML code) to see what is possible and effective. One of mine (a similar one covering the interests of the San Francisco Engineers Without Borders Appropriate Technology Design Team is http://ewbappropriatetechnology.blogspot.com/. Blogspot has information on how to improve your technique as well.

If you want to become a "member", so that you can post, or if you have comments or questions email me (Charlie Sellers) at csellers42@yahoo.com